B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Dispatch Dispatcher
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Company Policy; Human Factors
Dispatch was contacted by the Ops Agent who requested that a new release be issued. The agent informed dispatch that the TOW of the aircraft was >2000lbs above the planned TOW due to a higher number of pax/bags. When asked what the new ZFW was for the flight she stated 105.1. Based on that information; a new release was issued by dispatch then printed and distributed to the flight crew. After the flight had departed; dispatch was notified by the ops agent that an error had occurred on the loading schedule and that the flight crew did not have the revised/corrected version on board. After a lengthy and in depth conversation with the ops agent about the current weight of the aircraft; it was determined that the ZFW of the aircraft that the crew was operating under was correct; but the FOB that was indicated on the loading schedule was 3900lbs higher than actual. The flight crew pushed the gate with a loading schedule that did not reflect the actual weight of the aircraft and failed to follow the procedures in the AOM which requires cross-checking the information contained on the loading schedule. The flight crew was informed that the there was an error; the ZFW was correct and asked to concur that landing data would be valid based on the accuracy of the ZFW they were operating under. After concurrence; the flight continued and landed at their destination without incident.After review; it appears to me that the operations agent got 'frustrated' when she was unable to determine why the TOW of the aircraft was higher than planned and failed to give dispatch the correct information when asking for assistance. She did not see the error in her loading schedule fuel section so she requested dispatch issue a new release based on a manipulated payload information in order to push the flight from the gate. This coupled with the flight crew's lack of cross-checking the loading schedule led to the continued operation under a flawed loading schedule.
Dispatcher was notified by Gate Agent that an aircraft departed without the correct weight and balance information. Also; the flight crew did not crosscheck the loading schedule.