Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors
As I was conducting an exterior pre-flight; Crew Chief handed me Dangerous Goods Form paperwork. [Flight crew] had received an ACARS message to expect DG to be loaded on aircraft. Later we received a message that no DG was loaded onto aircraft. Confused called for crew chief to come to the flight deck for clarification. Crew Chief confirmed no DG loaded on the aircraft. Confusion on paperwork [cause the DG uncertainty]. I would recommend that the actual hard copy of the paperwork not be given to the flight crew until the Crew Chief confirms that the DG is actually going to be loaded onto the aircraft. If for some reason the DG is removed from the aircraft then it should require that the Crew Chief come to the flight deck in person to verify to the flight deck crew that in fact there is no DG on the aircraft. I did place a call to our Dispatcher to coordinate a call with the Load Control to try to get a confirmation as to whether we did or did not have DG on the aircraft. After about a 3 minute hold they came back on-line and said they were unsure after speaking with Load Control. You could hear frustration in the Dispatcher's voice as they shared this happens more times than you would think. Given that we are dealing with DG and Load Control and Dispatch are far removed physically from the event I believe the Crew Chief is the best resource for the actual verification of DG onboard an aircraft.
Air Carrier First Officer reported a communication breakdown between flight crew and ground personnel regarding the uncertainty of whether or not DG cargo was loaded on the aircraft.