Loading Documentation and Control
The documents
The load sheet is the flight document that summarises DOM, fuel on board, traffic load by compartment, ZFM, TOM, LM and the CG positions at take-off, at zero fuel and at landing, and shows that each is inside its limit. The trim sheet (or equivalent computer calculation) shows how the CG was derived. The loading instruction tells the loading team what to load and where; the loading report returns what was actually loaded. The NOTOC (notification to the commander) accompanies dangerous goods.
Responsibilities
The loading supervisor ensures the load matches the instruction, is distributed and restrained correctly, that the actual masses and positions are reported, and that dangerous goods are documented and segregated. The flight crew, and ultimately the commander, must check that the load sheet reflects the actual fuel and load, that all masses and CG positions are within limits, and then sign. The load sheet is normally signed by both the loading officer and the commander before departure.
Last-minute changes
A last-minute change (LMC) may be accepted without issuing a new load sheet only within the limit stated in the operations manual (commonly a few hundred kilograms, and never if it would take a mass or the CG outside limits). Beyond that, or if the CG changes materially, a new load sheet must be produced and signed.
Worked example
Load sheet: DOM 44 000 kg, traffic load 15 000 kg, fuel 10 000 kg, MTOM 70 000 kg. ZFM = 59 000 kg, TOM = 69 000 kg. A late cargo item of 1 200 kg is offered for the aft hold. Even if the mass limit still allowed it, the LMC is above the manual's limit, so a new load sheet and CG check are required before it can be carried.
Traps that cost marks
Signing a load sheet that shows planned fuel rather than actual fuel; treating the DOM as including traffic load; accepting an LMC that puts the CG near a limit; forgetting that a change in one hold affects the CG even if total mass is unchanged; and failing to check that the load sheet's registration, flight number and date match the flight.