Medium large transport crew discovered improperly loaded company hazmat.

Attributes
ACN	441054
Time
Date	199906
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : cvg.airport
State Reference	KY
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Medium Large Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Flight Phase	ground : parked ground : preflight
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : flight engineer pilot : commercial pilot : atp pilot : multi engine
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 15000 flight time type : 5000
ASRS Report	441054
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far non adherence : company policies
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Company
Primary Problem	Company

Narrative:

About 15 mins prior to departure, ramp agent brought forms to cockpit and stated he was boarding 'life saving devices and company material' in bin. Before I could look up the forms information in the manual, I had to go to the cabin area to take care of a carry-on baggage problem. Upon returning to the cockpit to complete the preflight, several other 'distrs' occurred and it wasn't until after takeoff that I realized I hadn't finished looking up the information about the cargo. The first officer and I finally determined that too much of the hazmat (slides and vests) had been loaded in bin. It should have been spread out throughout the other bins. The distrs of preflight and passenger problems, coupled with the push for on-time led to my overlooking the form. Contributing to the problem was the fact that the information in our manuals is very difficult to find. It took the first officer and me several attempts to finally figure out we needed to distribute the cargo differently.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MLG CREW DISCOVERED IMPROPERLY LOADED COMPANY HAZMAT.

Narrative: ABOUT 15 MINS PRIOR TO DEP, RAMP AGENT BROUGHT FORMS TO COCKPIT AND STATED HE WAS BOARDING 'LIFE SAVING DEVICES AND COMPANY MATERIAL' IN BIN. BEFORE I COULD LOOK UP THE FORMS INFO IN THE MANUAL, I HAD TO GO TO THE CABIN AREA TO TAKE CARE OF A CARRY-ON BAGGAGE PROB. UPON RETURNING TO THE COCKPIT TO COMPLETE THE PREFLT, SEVERAL OTHER 'DISTRS' OCCURRED AND IT WASN'T UNTIL AFTER TKOF THAT I REALIZED I HADN'T FINISHED LOOKING UP THE INFO ABOUT THE CARGO. THE FO AND I FINALLY DETERMINED THAT TOO MUCH OF THE HAZMAT (SLIDES AND VESTS) HAD BEEN LOADED IN BIN. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE OTHER BINS. THE DISTRS OF PREFLT AND PAX PROBS, COUPLED WITH THE PUSH FOR ON-TIME LED TO MY OVERLOOKING THE FORM. CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROB WAS THE FACT THAT THE INFO IN OUR MANUALS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND. IT TOOK THE FO AND ME SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO FINALLY FIGURE OUT WE NEEDED TO DISTRIBUTE THE CARGO DIFFERENTLY.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.