B777-200
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Procedure; Manuals
During our preflight and pre departure tasks; the Dangerous Goods (DG) Agent noticed that one of the hazard pallets (1L) was loaded backwards. He brought this to our attention and I tasked the RFO to ensure that we had the needed 18 inch clearance with the pallet and the airplane. The Ramp agent and DG agent made several phone calls to be positive that they were measuring the 18 inches correctly. Myself and the RFO opened our DG Job Aid that is located in the iPad where we wanted to review that the pallet was in fact correctly loaded. Under Item 13--18 aisle on left and aft sides of the ADG pallets. Well it just states you need 18 inches; but not where you measure from. So we asked the subject matter expert-DG Agent; Ramp Agent; and they ensured us that we had 18 inches from the freight to the fuselage and the pallet to the fuselage and they had made several calls to confirm the correct way of measuring. They had a tape measure and the RFO did confirm the correct distance; 18 inches; was in fact there. On the FOM Flight Crew Member Inspection of DG; we reviewed all the items there and I was satisfied we were properly loaded and that a total reload of the aircraft was not going to happen. So why the report? Once airborne the RFO continued to review everything and discovered on FOM under pallet requirements conflicting information to the DG Job Aid and the info given to us by the DG Agent and Ramp Agent. It states that the 18 inch aisle way is measured from the edge of the pallet to the freight on the pallet. Not from the pallet to the tube. It also states that the pallets are loaded on the left side must have an 18 inch aisle along the left and aft or left and forward sides. Well we did not have a 18 inch aisle along the pallet to the freight (left forward sided) because the pallet was loaded incorrectly (backward). We did not rush and I was not pressured to take the jet 'as Is' versus reloading it and taking a delay. No doubt this was weighing on the Ramp Agents mind as both the Ramp Agent and the DG Agent claimed they made 3 calls to confirm the correct measuring of the pallet. The DG Job Aid in the Secure Content locker is a great tool. It however is incomplete on concerning the 18 aisle and it differs slightly on where the measurements are from. It excludes 'LEFT AND FORWARD' (from the FOM) where we did not have the clearance. Where did the breakdown occur---DG Job Aid's incomplete Info versus the FOM. My trust in the DG Agent knowing the correct way to measure and WHERE to measure from to obtain the 18 inches. My Recommendation is to update the DG Job Aid to mirror the FOM.
Once airborne the RFO continued to review everything and discovered on FOM under pallet requirements conflicting information to the DG Job Aid and the info given to us by the DG Agent and Ramp Agent. The FOM states that the 18 inch aisle way is measured from the edge of the pallet to the freight on the pallet. So even though we followed one guideline; we may have inadvertently violated another. My Recommendation is to update the DG Job Aid to mirror the FOM.
B777 flight crew reported an improperly loaded dangerous goods pallet that the DG agent believed was still acceptable because the required 18 inches of clearance is still present. Once airborne it was discovered that there is a discrepancy between the DG quick reference manual and the FOM and that the 18 inches was not measured correctly.