Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Fatigue
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors
I operated the flight; and upon arrival at the hotel I was informed by the new Captain who was onboard the aircraft; that there had been a discrepancy on our weight and balance paperwork and that the aircraft had departed 3;982 KG over the weight listed on the weight and balance manifest. This discrepancy was discovered when the load master was preparing the loading supervisor verification form for the next leg. It was during this time that the load master realized he had failed to recalculate the actual passenger weight [before departure] after additional passengers had boarded the aircraft.The discrepancy on our weight and balance paperwork occurred because the load master provided me with a loading supervisor verification form which contained the actual passenger weight from the previous leg; and did not account for the additional passengers that had boarded the aircraft [at our departure airport]. I spoke to the load master about the error over the phone and he admitted to giving me an inaccurate loading supervisor verification form [before departure] and apologized. The aircraft was never over max gross weight and no limitations were exceeded due to this error.The load master was fatigued; when I spoke to him on the phone he told me he was tired and had been on the airplane for 10 days straight.I see the same level of fatigue in our ride-along mechanics. Company employees are required to stay onboard the aircraft for long periods of time with little to no time for adequate rest in hotels. This leads to extreme levels of fatigue that I often witness in our load masters and ride-along mechanics. Human performance at this level of fatigue is severely degraded.The loading supervisor verification form itself is not well suited for military flights that require actual passenger and baggage weights. The form was designed for scheduled service flying and translates poorly to military flying as there is no place for the load masters to write the actual weights or the calculations used to obtain those weights. Actual weights are often scribbled in a random location on the form.Calculations used to derive those weights are seldom provided. Readability and ease of use of this form is critical as it is often one of the last forms we receive immediately prior to closing the door and preparing for takeoff. This provides little time for verifying accuracy of calculations; etc. when up against time constraints for an on-time departure. I strongly recommend revising this from.Upon our arrival to the aircraft [at the departure airport;] dispatch was having a lot of difficulty filing a flight plan that would be accepted by ATC. Multiple flight plans were filed and subsequently rejected by ATC which lead to multiple versions of important paperwork being sent to the aircraft. Our workload was abnormally high as we tried to sort through all the revisions; assist dispatch in verifying flight plan status with local ATC; and obtain new versions of paperwork as they were released. This led to decreased amounts of time for me to scrutinize the work of others; such as the load master and his calculations on the loading supervisor verification form.
I helped operate a flight. I was informed later that the Captain had found out an error that had occurred with the weight and balance for the flight. The error occurred because the weight and balance manifest form was completed improperly and the wrong weight was written down for the actual passenger weights. This incorrect information caused a difference of 3;900 KG from the actual takeoff weight and the takeoff weight found on the weight and balance. The flight did not exceed any limitations and the weight used on the [takeoff and landing report] was still valid so all our flap settings and takeoff speeds were not affected. There is a need for a location on the weight and balance manifest form for actual passenger weights.
B757-200 flight crew reported being informed after a flight that the Loadmaster had not accounted for additional passengers that were boarded at the previous stop resulting in a 3;900 KG error. The Loadmaster had been on the aircraft for 10 days and was very fatigued.