MD-11
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion; Training / Qualification; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Company Policy; Procedure; Staffing
During the flight crew's DG [Dangerous Goods] inspection we found boxes that appeared damaged. We asked the ramp agent how they determine if a package is damaged and he stated they were told that; if there was any questions; to load it on the aircraft and see if the crew asks for it to be removed. The boxes were not removed; but pictures were sent to Flight Safety to determine their opinion on the shipments. The DG paperwork also had conflicting position information between the aircraft summary and the manifests that was rectified prior to departure.I believe this event happened due to the lack of standardized training and clear expectations with regard to DG procedures.The company should clearly train pilots and DG personnel as to what constitutes a damaged package. [The goal of such training] should be changing DG specialists attitudes from 'let's see if the flight crew objects' to 'let's be part of the safety process and ensure that nothing unsafe gets loaded on the aircraft'. With respect to the paperwork issue [we must ensure] that DG agents understand that everything with respect to DG is serious and must be done correctly.
An MD-11 Captain addressed concerns about a casual attitude on the part of Dangerous Goods handlers with respect to damaged packaging who were instructed to board possibly compromised packaging and remove it only if the flight crew refused it.