Narrative:

The dispatch release for this flight came off the printer somewhat garbled. It appeared that all the information was there; but parts had not printed in the usual places. Our problem came up in the takeoff performance: the maximum weight section had two columns; one for runway xx and one for runway yy. The column headers had not printed properly. At first glance; it appeared that the header for runway yy had printed; but the one for xx had not. I thought I knew which column was which; but just to be sure; I called my dispatcher and read him what I thought the appropriate numbers were for runway xx; the one we planned to use; at the current temperature. He said that the numbers I read him off of our copy appeared to him to be for runway yy. I reexamined our copy and finally made sense of it. What had happened was this: the column headers had not printed on a line of their own; instead; they printed at the end of the previous line of the release; with the column header for xx printing first; and the header for yy 'overflowing' onto the next line. There should have been a 'new line' code sent to the printer before the xx header; but there wasn't. However; a 'new line' did print after the yy header; so that the first line of the actual data columns for those runways started on the next line; below the yy header. In this case; the difference was quite significant -- the maximum weight for xx (our planned runway) was about 3;000 pounds less than that for yy! I'm glad I decided to check with my dispatcher! I should note that seriously garbled releases are an everyday occurrence now. It seems to happen more often at two stations; but as this example shows; it can pop up elsewhere; too. Other factors: 1. Workload -- our 'uplift' out is severely limited due to runway construction. As well as all the usual preflight tasks; we were trying hard to accommodate as many passengers as possible; requiring the first officer to complete multiple load manifests as the passenger and bag counts we were given changed from minute to minute. 2. Schedule pressure. I came very close to deciding not to take the time to call dispatch; assuming I knew which runway column was which. Had I not done so; we probably would have taken off 3;000 pounds overweight! Suggestions: 1. Get ACARS; so we don't have to print the performance in the first place. 2. Fix the printing problems. 3. As pilots; we can't do much about items 1 and 2. But what we can do is insist on having the information we need before releasing the parking brake. If necessary; have the release reprinted ten times; have dispatch fax it (seems to work better than local printing) or copy the information over the phone. If in any doubt; contact dispatch and verify what you have.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain reported that lack of an ACARS and the method of printing the Takeoff Performance Information make the crew's weight and balance work difficult to ensure they have the correct information.

Narrative: The dispatch release for this flight came off the printer somewhat garbled. It appeared that all the information was there; but parts had not printed in the usual places. Our problem came up in the takeoff performance: the MAX WEIGHT section had two columns; one for Runway XX and one for Runway YY. The column headers had not printed properly. At first glance; it appeared that the header for Runway YY had printed; but the one for XX had not. I thought I knew which column was which; but just to be sure; I called my Dispatcher and read him what I thought the appropriate numbers were for Runway XX; the one we planned to use; at the current temperature. He said that the numbers I read him off of our copy appeared to him to be for Runway YY. I reexamined our copy and finally made sense of it. What had happened was this: The column headers had not printed on a line of their own; instead; they printed at the end of the previous line of the release; with the column header for XX printing first; and the header for YY 'overflowing' onto the next line. There should have been a 'new line' code sent to the printer BEFORE the XX header; but there wasn't. However; a 'new line' DID print AFTER the YY header; so that the first line of the actual data columns for those runways started on the next line; below the YY header. In this case; the difference was quite significant -- the maximum weight for XX (our planned runway) was about 3;000 pounds less than that for YY! I'm glad I decided to check with my Dispatcher! I should note that seriously garbled releases are an everyday occurrence now. It seems to happen more often at two stations; but as this example shows; it can pop up elsewhere; too. OTHER FACTORS: 1. Workload -- our 'uplift' out is severely limited due to runway construction. As well as all the usual preflight tasks; we were trying hard to accommodate as many passengers as possible; requiring the First Officer to complete multiple load manifests as the passenger and bag counts we were given changed from minute to minute. 2. Schedule pressure. I came very close to deciding not to take the time to call Dispatch; assuming I knew which runway column was which. Had I not done so; we probably would have taken off 3;000 pounds overweight! SUGGESTIONS: 1. Get ACARS; so we don't have to print the performance in the first place. 2. Fix the printing problems. 3. As pilots; we can't do much about items 1 and 2. But what we can do is insist on having the information we need before releasing the parking brake. If necessary; have the release reprinted ten times; have Dispatch fax it (seems to work better than local printing) or copy the information over the phone. If in any doubt; contact Dispatch and verify what you have.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.