B757-200
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 132; Flight Crew Total 14195; Flight Crew Type 1345
Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
General Maintenance Action
Human Factors; Procedure
Aircraft fueled outside of structural limits for flight.The fuel sheet for this flight called for the following fuel load:Left wing: 14;650 lbs (full); Center: 13;400 lbs; Right wing: 14;650 lbs (full)For a total of: 42;700 lbsThe aircraft was fueled to the following flight deck totalizer quantities:Left wing: 12;900 lbs; Center: 15;700 lbs; Right wing: 13;800 lbsTotaling: 42;400 lbsThe fuel sheet reported:Left wing: 13;700 lbs; Center: 15;900 lbs; Right wing: 13;100 lbsFor for a total of: 42;700 lbsThe 757-200 is not authorized to operate with less than full wing tanks and more than 2;000 lbs of fuel in the center tank. This is a structural limit. I called Station Operations and Station Maintenance to have the fueler return to either top off the wing tanks or transfer fuel. I then called Dispatch and the [Chief Pilot] to keep the [Operations Control] in the loop and to document the error. We determined that the fastest way to fix the problem was to top off the wings and re-release the flight with that extra fuel.I have two concerns: One is that our fueling contractors may be unaware of this important limitation. It is particularly interesting to note that the 'desired' fuel and the 'loaded' fuel columns on the fuel sheet both add up to the correct boarded total; even though the aircraft was out of limits as originally fueled.The other insidious threat here is that; in my opinion; this is not a particularly easy mistake to catch. When I checked the total fuel I was initially ok with the load. Then; as I looked at the wing quantities; I realized we had a problem and called Maintenance to confirm my assessment of the situation. While talking to the Line Maintenance Technician during the refueling process; he mentioned that this was not the first time he had seen this problem at [this station]. I am left to wonder how many other aircraft have been fueled this way; and if we caught all those errors.
When fueling appeared to be complete (and I say 'appeared' because with no more requirement for a fuel sheet or an [fuel sheet] we have no way to tell if fueling is really complete); there was an imbalance between the wing tanks. I called Operations and asked for the Fueler to come speak to us.When I asked the Fueler about the imbalance; he said 'we can have up to a 1;500 pound imbalance between the wings; so you're good.' I've never heard that before; and I think he's wrong. The wing tanks are supposed to be full if there is fuel in the center tank; and they should be approximately equal.Then the [fuel sheet] showed up; and the distribution reflected on the [fuel sheet] did not match the distribution reflected on our fuel gauges. The gauges showed 15.1 (left); 31.5 (center); 14.1 (right). The [fuel sheet] showed 14.4 (left); 31.4 (center); 15.0 (right). So I asked the Fueler about that. He repeated the same thing about the 1;500 pound imbalance and basically told me not to worry about it. I asked him several more times if there was any possibility he entered the numbers incorrectly on the [fuel sheet]; but he wasn't interested in discussing the matter further and he left. So at that point I decided to have the tanks dripped to determine how much fuel was actually on the jet.After determining the cockpit fuel gauges were correct and the [fuel sheet] was wrong; we asked for the Fueler to come back. I explained the problem again; and again he really wasn't interested in discussing it or admitting that maybe he made a mistake. I think he entered the numbers backwards (transposed left and right tanks) on the [fuel sheet]; but he would not admit to that. However; at this point he did say that one of the tanks shut off early during fueling. So I asked the Mechanic to check the fueling panel. As it turns out; one of the gauges in the fueling panel was not functioning correctly and ended up getting deferred.There are three main problems here:1) The Fueler entered incorrect numbers on the [fuel sheet] and he noticed a problem during fueling but didn't tell anyone about it.2) The [fuel sheet] form does not have a 'remarks' section at the bottom like the paper form did; so even if the Fueler noticed an irregularity there is no place for him to document it so the pilots to know about it.3) The Fueler needs to understand that it is not his place to tell the Captain what should and should not be worried about. This entire process took about an hour; but it could have been completed much quicker if the Fueler had been more cooperative.
B757 flight crew reported a communication breakdown between flight crew and aircraft fueler regarding fuel load imbalance.