Narrative:

This is normally an oceanic nonstop; but the originating crew had a FAR117 issue so stopped short in a domestic airport. The passengers were kept on the aircraft and not processed through customs. Nothing was to be removed from the aircraft without customs'; express permission. The aircraft was provisioned with water; ice and drinks and the lavs were drained. For some reason still unknown to us; ramp personnel opened the bulk cargo door. That is what then created a 2 hour needless delay on the gate and subsequent nearly catastrophic take off disaster! After the mentioned delay of 2 hours; the aircraft was closed up; pushed and taxied out for takeoff. When we received our 'first' final weights we noticed the weight had gone down a whopping 19;670 pounds! How could a flight where nothing could be taken off lose any weight; let alone 19;670 pounds?!!! I immediately sent an ACARS message to load planning asking the question. We received a message acknowledging the 'mistake' and that everyone was working on it. Then we received our 'second' final weights. Amazingly; the aircraft now was 8;978 pounds above the original planned weight! Now was when we lost all faith in the company's ability to calculate any weight and balance. This is when I called dispatch on sat phone to get to the bottom of things.. Keep in mind; we were number one for takeoff for 30 minutes during this process. What then happened is truly amazing. Instead of trying to help figure this entire mess out and do the right thing; dispatch became indignant and completely unprofessional and actually questioned the crew's ability to read weight and balance. After unsuccessfully trying to get her to listen; the captain took over sat phone and I monitored ATC.. Of course; I could now hear him cross cockpit saying the exact same things I had and getting the same results. We then received the 'third' final weights which matched the original flight plan's zero fuel weight (ZFW) estimate. Again; nothing was to be taken off the aircraft in the intermediate stop. The only weight change to the zero would have been fewer flight attendants aboard- maybe 500 pounds plus bags?!! We stopped trying to converse with the 'dispatcher' on sat phone and set about flying the aircraft to the final destination. The subsequent to/climb-out/ and flight were uneventful.had we not queried the load planner with the original 19;670 pound decrease; which was not correct; and used that data for takeoff and experienced an abort at V-1; we would have gone off the end of the runway and killed everyone on board! Let that sink in for a minute! To say I'm 'upset' (not my preferred term right now) is an understatement. The company's load planning department and processes are a disaster. How nobody caught this is amazing! An aircraft where nothing is allowed to be taken off somehow is 19;670 pounds lighter all of a sudden! But; then just as amazingly; now it's 8;978 pounds heavier. These are supposed to be 'weight and balance' experts!! This was not a mistake today. This was gross negligence and dereliction of duty.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Following an unscheduled stop; a B777 replacement crew noted a large weight and balance error on the aircraft when nothing was taken off or added because of Custom's restrictions. Three weight and balance revisions finally produced an acceptable and safe report.

Narrative: This is normally an oceanic nonstop; but the originating crew had a FAR117 issue so stopped short in a domestic airport. The Passengers were kept on the aircraft and not processed through customs. Nothing was to be removed from the aircraft without customs'; express permission. The aircraft was provisioned with water; ice and drinks and the lavs were drained. For some reason still unknown to us; ramp personnel opened the bulk cargo door. That is what then created a 2 hour needless delay on the gate and subsequent nearly catastrophic take off disaster! After the mentioned delay of 2 hours; the aircraft was closed up; pushed and taxied out for takeoff. When we received our 'First' final weights we noticed the weight had gone down a whopping 19;670 pounds! How could a flight where nothing could be taken off lose any weight; let alone 19;670 pounds?!!! I immediately sent an ACARS message to load planning asking the question. We received a message acknowledging the 'mistake' and that everyone was working on it. Then we received our 'Second' final weights. Amazingly; the aircraft now was 8;978 pounds above the original planned weight! Now was when we lost all faith in the company's ability to calculate any weight and balance. This is when I called dispatch on Sat Phone to get to the bottom of things.. Keep in mind; we were number one for takeoff for 30 minutes during this process. What then happened is truly amazing. Instead of trying to help figure this entire mess out and do the right thing; dispatch became indignant and completely unprofessional and actually questioned the crew's ability to read weight and balance. After unsuccessfully trying to get her to listen; the Captain took over Sat Phone and I monitored ATC.. of course; I could now hear him cross cockpit saying the exact same things I had and getting the same results. We then received the 'Third' final weights which matched the original flight plan's Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW) estimate. Again; NOTHING was to be taken off the aircraft in the intermediate stop. The only weight change to the zero would have been fewer flight attendants aboard- maybe 500 pounds plus bags?!! We stopped trying to converse with the 'dispatcher' on Sat Phone and set about flying the aircraft to the final destination. The subsequent TO/Climb-out/ and flight were uneventful.Had we not queried the load planner with the original 19;670 pound decrease; which was not correct; and used that data for takeoff and experienced an abort at V-1; we would have gone off the end of the runway and killed everyone on board! Let that sink in for a minute! To say I'm 'upset' (not my preferred term right now) is an understatement. The Company's load planning department and processes are a disaster. How nobody caught this is amazing! An aircraft where nothing is allowed to be taken off somehow is 19;670 pounds lighter all of a sudden! But; then just as amazingly; now it's 8;978 pounds heavier. These are supposed to be 'weight and balance' experts!! This was not a mistake today. This was gross negligence and dereliction of duty.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.