Narrative:

Aircraft fueled outside of structural limits for flight.the fuel sheet for this flight called for the following fuel load:left wing: 14;650 lbs (full); center: 13;400 lbs; right wing: 14;650 lbs (full)for a total of: 42;700 lbsthe aircraft was fueled to the following flight deck totalizer quantities:left wing: 12;900 lbs; center: 15;700 lbs; right wing: 13;800 lbstotaling: 42;400 lbsthe fuel sheet reported:left wing: 13;700 lbs; center: 15;900 lbs; right wing: 13;100 lbsfor for a total of: 42;700 lbsthe 757-200 is not authorized to operate with less than full wing tanks and more than 2;000 lbs of fuel in the center tank. This is a structural limit. I called station operations and station maintenance to have the fueler return to either top off the wing tanks or transfer fuel. I then called dispatch and the [chief pilot] to keep the [operations control] in the loop and to document the error. We determined that the fastest way to fix the problem was to top off the wings and re-release the flight with that extra fuel.I have two concerns: one is that our fueling contractors may be unaware of this important limitation. It is particularly interesting to note that the 'desired' fuel and the 'loaded' fuel columns on the fuel sheet both add up to the correct boarded total; even though the aircraft was out of limits as originally fueled.the other insidious threat here is that; in my opinion; this is not a particularly easy mistake to catch. When I checked the total fuel I was initially ok with the load. Then; as I looked at the wing quantities; I realized we had a problem and called maintenance to confirm my assessment of the situation. While talking to the line maintenance technician during the refueling process; he mentioned that this was not the first time he had seen this problem at [this station]. I am left to wonder how many other aircraft have been fueled this way; and if we caught all those errors.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 flight crew reported a communication breakdown between flight crew and aircraft fueler regarding fuel load imbalance.

Narrative: Aircraft fueled outside of structural limits for flight.The fuel sheet for this flight called for the following fuel load:Left wing: 14;650 lbs (full); Center: 13;400 lbs; Right wing: 14;650 lbs (full)For a total of: 42;700 lbsThe aircraft was fueled to the following flight deck totalizer quantities:Left wing: 12;900 lbs; Center: 15;700 lbs; Right wing: 13;800 lbsTotaling: 42;400 lbsThe fuel sheet reported:Left wing: 13;700 lbs; Center: 15;900 lbs; Right wing: 13;100 lbsFor for a total of: 42;700 lbsThe 757-200 is not authorized to operate with less than full wing tanks and more than 2;000 lbs of fuel in the center tank. This is a structural limit. I called Station Operations and Station Maintenance to have the fueler return to either top off the wing tanks or transfer fuel. I then called Dispatch and the [Chief Pilot] to keep the [Operations Control] in the loop and to document the error. We determined that the fastest way to fix the problem was to top off the wings and re-release the flight with that extra fuel.I have two concerns: One is that our fueling contractors may be unaware of this important limitation. It is particularly interesting to note that the 'desired' fuel and the 'loaded' fuel columns on the fuel sheet both add up to the correct boarded total; even though the aircraft was out of limits as originally fueled.The other insidious threat here is that; in my opinion; this is not a particularly easy mistake to catch. When I checked the total fuel I was initially ok with the load. Then; as I looked at the wing quantities; I realized we had a problem and called Maintenance to confirm my assessment of the situation. While talking to the Line Maintenance Technician during the refueling process; he mentioned that this was not the first time he had seen this problem at [this station]. I am left to wonder how many other aircraft have been fueled this way; and if we caught all those errors.

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.