EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Human Factors
During our initial maintenance delay for a nail in the tire; I was walking back to the aircraft with the maintenance personnel when a lady in the jetway stopped me and asked me if I would check if her wheelchair was put on the aircraft. I asked her what kind of wheel chair it was and she told me an electric one. I told her I'll see it gets put on; knowing that it would have to be marked on the load report. If this lady had not stopped me and told me about her wheelchair; we would have departed and never been any wiser. After boarding was completed; we received the load report. All that it stated was there was 43 bags. I asked the female ramp agent if there was a wheelchair loaded on board to make sure they had received it. She said 'yeah I think'; and my FO (First Officer) commented to me that she was very dismissive of me. Then she just walked off. Knowing that the load report was not correctly filled out we called for a ramp supervisor to address the issue. I also went down stairs to see what kind of wheel chair it was and how it was put in the cargo hold. I could not tell what type of mobility aid it was (i.e. lithium; non spillable; etc;) but I was told by the ramp agent that it was a Non Spillable battery. The wheel chair was basically in front of the cargo door with bags behind and in front of the wheelchair. FOM states: '...The wheelchair/mobility aid must be loaded and secured on the aircraft in a manner that prevents movement and protects the device against damage from movement of other cargo or baggage;' How does leaving the mobility aid so that it can freely move in the cargo bin with bags behind it and in front of it count as being secure? How does this stop bags falling on it during rotation or breaking when landing? Perhaps a better description in the FOM of how these mobility aids should be secured would be helpful in ensuring the rampers are doing their job correctly.
E-175 Captain reported communication breakdown between flight crew and Ramp Supervisor regarding load report errors. Captain further stated FOM Hazmat loading directives needs to be expanded.