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Air cargo captain reported that weight and balance calculations may not be accounting for cardboard boxes that have been exposed to rain.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1517816 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201802 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural Weight And Balance |
Narrative:
This [cargo] operation utilizes a unique loading platform different from all or most in the industry in that they use in part or in total a system of cardboard containers placed upon a wooden pallet then placed on a metal sheet then wrapped in thin plastic. I have seen this practice pretty much since the beginning of the operation and I have asked many sources how these makeshift pallets are treated regarding moisture penetration. I asked if there is a tare weight adjustment added when the cardboard containers are exposed to rain or inclement weather as they sit outside waiting to be on loaded into the aircraft. I have not been able to glean any information other than this type of pallet system was to be phased out. This does not appear to be the case as many of the out stations are still employing this system.as this could be a significant safety issue if the wicking of water by these cardboard containers could be a significant weight increase. My question is what precautions and procedures are in place to account for this potential weight increase? I am unable to find any reference in any of our weight and balance manuals that address this concern. If there is a procedure that takes this water weight consideration into effect please disseminate it to all involved.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air Cargo Captain reported that weight and balance calculations may not be accounting for cardboard boxes that have been exposed to rain.
Narrative: This [cargo] operation utilizes a unique loading platform different from all or most in the industry in that they use in part or in total a system of cardboard containers placed upon a wooden pallet then placed on a metal sheet then wrapped in thin plastic. I have seen this practice pretty much since the beginning of the operation and I have asked many sources how these makeshift pallets are treated regarding moisture penetration. I asked if there is a tare weight adjustment added when the cardboard containers are exposed to rain or inclement weather as they sit outside waiting to be on loaded into the aircraft. I have not been able to glean any information other than this type of pallet system was to be phased out. This does not appear to be the case as many of the out stations are STILL employing this system.As this could be a significant safety issue if the wicking of water by these cardboard containers could be a significant weight increase. My question is what precautions and procedures are in place to account for this potential weight increase? I am unable to find any reference in any of our weight and balance manuals that address this concern. If there is a procedure that takes this water weight consideration into effect please disseminate it to all involved.
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.