Narrative:

After blocking out of the gate; prior to pushback; the ramp asked how much ballast we needed. I told them our closeout indicated a total weight of 790 lbs and I didn't know how much; if any; was ballast. To clear up any confusion; I asked the ramp how many bags were in C4. The numbers they gave me verbally accounted for the 790 lbs in C4 so I told them we did not need any ballast at all. The ramp opened the cargo door briefly. Before beginning the pushback I verified again with ramp personnel that there was no ballast in C4. I was assured it had all been unloaded. We departed without incident. Once airborne dispatch told us there was 300 lbs of ballast in C4 that was not accounted for and we replied that the station personnel told us it had been unloaded. Nonetheless; we calculated landing performance based on the heavier weight. We also verified that our takeoff had been within all limits with the additional 300 lbs onboard. We landed without incident but once at the gate I deplaned to personally inspect C4 before it was unloaded. There was 300 lbs of ballast onboard the aircraft which had not been included on our closeout.this station works emb-145s from [several different air carriers]; all of which have different weight and balance procedures. I suspect this contributed to the confusion amongst ramp personnel and the incorrect loading of ballast that was both unnecessary and unaccounted for. My issue here is not so much the mistake; but the fact I was twice told by ramp personnel there was no ballast on the airplane prior to pushback when in fact there was 300 lbs in C4. There are serious safety implications here and as the captain I expect to get truthful answers from my coworkers when I ask for information.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-145 flight crew reported they departed with 300 lbs of ballast aboard that they had been assured was removed.

Narrative: After blocking out of the gate; prior to pushback; the ramp asked how much ballast we needed. I told them our closeout indicated a total weight of 790 lbs and I didn't know how much; if any; was ballast. To clear up any confusion; I asked the ramp how many bags were in C4. The numbers they gave me verbally accounted for the 790 lbs in C4 so I told them we did not need any ballast at all. The ramp opened the cargo door briefly. Before beginning the pushback I verified again with ramp personnel that there was no ballast in C4. I was assured it had all been unloaded. We departed without incident. Once airborne Dispatch told us there was 300 lbs of ballast in C4 that was not accounted for and we replied that the station personnel told us it had been unloaded. Nonetheless; we calculated landing performance based on the heavier weight. We also verified that our takeoff had been within all limits with the additional 300 lbs onboard. We landed without incident but once at the gate I deplaned to personally inspect C4 before it was unloaded. There was 300 lbs of ballast onboard the aircraft which had not been included on our closeout.This station works EMB-145s from [several different air carriers]; all of which have different weight and balance procedures. I suspect this contributed to the confusion amongst ramp personnel and the incorrect loading of ballast that was both unnecessary and unaccounted for. My issue here is not so much the mistake; but the fact I was twice told by ramp personnel there was no ballast on the airplane prior to pushback when in fact there was 300 lbs in C4. There are serious safety implications here and as the Captain I expect to get truthful answers from my coworkers when I ask for information.

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.