Ramp Check

pilot4500

pilot4500

IT Architect/ Former Cirrus Charter Pilot
Not long ago I got ramp checked by two FAA inspectors when I landed in MYR. For those of you that don't know, I fly for Ram Air Freight. They are a part 135 carrier based in North Carolina.

I was flying a Piper Seneca. After I landed, I saw two men in black suits and large FAA badges around their necks approach the plane and wait for me to get out. They showed me their FAA credentials and said that they were doing random ramp checks at MYR that day. They asked to see my pilot license, medical, and photo ID. I showed them them those documents and they made a note of it. They then asked to see the aircraft registration certificate, airworthiness certificate, company GOM, Ops specs, maintenence records, and my load manifest. I showed them everything that they asked for.

They examined every square inch of the the plane and could not find anything wrong with it. Pretty good for a 35 year old Seneca! They then watched me load my cargo. We have a scale in the airplane and I weighed every bag like I am supposed to do and then secured it with the cargo net.

They then asked me when was the last time the scale had been calibrated? I honestly did not know and did not have a record of it. He said that if I am using the scale for purpose of weighing cargo that it is required to be calibrated. The inspectors let me go on my way, but they said that they would be contacting my company about the scale calibration issue.

Is there any FAR that requires the scale to be calibrated? If there is I could not find it, but maybe I missed something.

I have been flying for 8 years and that was my first ramp check. I knew it was bound to happen at some point. All in all, I thought it went pretty well. :)
 
pilot4500 said:
They examined every square inch of the the plane and could not find anything wrong with it. Pretty good for a 35 year old Seneca! They then watched me load my cargo. We have a scale in the airplane and I weighed every bag like I am supposed to do and then secured it with the cargo net.
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Not bad for an older Seneca indeed. Weight...lol. At least for us when I flew cargo, all of it came our in UPS bins weighed by them....or so the grease marker number said. Cargo net.....good to have....when it would fit over the cargo :eek:

They then asked me when was the last time the scale had been calibrated? I honestly did not know and did not have a record of it. He said that if I am using the scale for purpose of weighing cargo that it is required to be calibrated. The inspectors let me go on my way, but they said that they would be contacting my company about the scale calibration issue.

Is there any FAR that requires the scale to be calibrated? If there is I could not find it, but maybe I missed something.

I have been flying for 8 years and that was my first ramp check. I knew it was bound to happen at some point. All in all, I thought it went pretty well. :)
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Sounds like severe nit-picking to me. Should've told one of them to get on the scale and tell you if the weight is accurate.
 
Someone at FLX told me that you can put a number of oil cans/containers with a known weight on a scale and say it's "calibrated" if the weight is right. Don't know whether that'd pass, since I was never Put To The Question when ramped.
 
I believe any requirements for scales would be covered by your Operations Manual or GOM or whatever you folks call it at RAF. Chances are, if the Inspectors knew the deal, they wouldn't be making a phone call to your company, they would be calling your POI. If you wanted to be a jerk, you could ask them if you need to keep the scale you weigh yourself with calibrated. Why do some people in authority positions try to invent rules? If they really knew the answer, they should have showed you where to find it, instead of putting you on the spot and then just saying that they'd call your company about it.
 
I got ramped once while flying a skydiving 182. (not counting the "ramp" checks at airshows). They found a faded seat belt label, but other than that had nothing to say.


I do believe power corrupts.
 
BajtheJino said:
Mtx records?
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They wanted to see a status sheet of when all of the required inspections are due. They also checked to make sure that there weren't any open squawks. They also checked to see that I had the required VOR check done within the last 30 days, which I did and it was properly documented.

Our GOM says that every bag must be weighed, but I didn't see anything about calibrating the scale.
 
pilot4500 said:
They wanted to see a status sheet of when all of the required inspections are due. They also checked to make sure that there weren't any open squawks. They also checked to see that I had the required VOR check done within the last 30 days, which I did and it was properly documented.

Our GOM says that every bag must be weighed, but I didn't see anything about calibrating the scale.
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Ah.
 
Boris Badenov said:
Someone at FLX told me that you can put a number of oil cans/containers with a known weight on a scale and say it's "calibrated" if the weight is right. Don't know whether that'd pass, since I was never Put To The Question when ramped.
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Heard that too. Three oil cans weighing six pounds I think?
 
pilot4500 said:
They wanted to see a status sheet of when all of the required inspections are due. They also checked to make sure that there weren't any open squawks. They also checked to see that I had the required VOR check done within the last 30 days, which I did and it was properly documented.

Our GOM says that every bag must be weighed, but I didn't see anything about calibrating the scale.
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The VOR check yes. The other checks like transponder, whatever, are usually in the hands of the mtc. dept, no? Give them the number to call if they get curious.
 
What's the scope of what an FAA inspector can query you about on a ramp check of a part 135 company? I'm a bit out of practice and can't remember.
 
The only thing I could find that even comes close to that is in AC 120-85 AIR CARGO OPERATIONS (paragraph 246)

246. ITEMS FOR WHICH AN AIR CARRIER SHOULD KNOW THE TARE WEIGHT. Authorized loading personnel using equipment such as dollies, slave frames, containers, and carts to weigh cargo on a scale should know the tare weight of this equipment so they can subtract this weight from the total weight to arrive at the cargo weight. An air carrier should determine the tare weight of this equipment by weighing it on a calibrated scale.


I realize that doesn't begin to answer the question. However, it would be interesting to write to the FSDO that did the ramp check and ask them that question.
 
I've been ramped checked about six times. Once as a flight a instructor and the rest at the current company (three of which were at the "mothership". Once at an outstation an inspector asked me how I knew how much the stuff weighed. I told him that the stuff was weighed by the customer prior to it getting out to the aircraft, which is how it's weighed. I would have no idea was their calibrated or even properly weighed.

In fact, we are technically not even supposed to weigh the stuff. We can provide a scale so that the customer can weigh it if need be, but they are supposed to supply the weights on the manifest. Atleast that is the way I was taught and understand it.
 
KLB said:
I've been ramped checked about six times. Once as a flight a instructor and the rest at the current company (three of which were at the "mothership". Once at an outstation an inspector asked me how I knew how much the stuff weighed. I told him that the stuff was weighed by the customer prior to it getting out to the aircraft, which is how it's weighed. I would have no idea was their calibrated or even properly weighed.

In fact, we are technically not even supposed to weigh the stuff. We can provide a scale so that the customer can weigh it if need be, but they are supposed to supply the weights on the manifest. Atleast that is the way I was taught and understand it.
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It's the same way with Airnet. The courier shows up with the stuff already weighed.
 
KLB said:
Once at an outstation an inspector asked me how I knew how much the stuff weighed.
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Forget the weight its all about the nose strut Mr FAA dude 8" is good, anything less or more your gonna get beech slapped.
 
pilot4500 said:
They wanted to see a status sheet of when all of the required inspections are due. They also checked to make sure that there weren't any open squawks. They also checked to see that I had the required VOR check done within the last 30 days, which I did and it was properly documented.

Our GOM says that every bag must be weighed, but I didn't see anything about calibrating the scale.
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First things first. Kindly ask to see the inspector's ID's. Write down their ID numbers and ask what FSDO they're from and the manager's name. They know you and your boss, so you know theirs.

That's the best way to deal with it.

Don't forget, in a commercial environment, a ramp check is as much as a check on the company as it is you.

Good job in using your resources. If it's not in your GOM, tell the inspectors "It's not in the GOM."

Sometimes, you won't be able to answer one of the questions from a Fed. If you don't have the knowledge, or resource, put there buzzing around, it might be something the company needs to fix.
 
Polar742 said:
First things first. Kindly ask to see the inspector's ID's. Write down their ID numbers and ask what FSDO they're from and the manager's name. They know you and your boss, so you know theirs.

That's the best way to deal with it.

Don't forget, in a commercial environment, a ramp check is as much as a check on the company as it is you.

Good job in using your resources. If it's not in your GOM, tell the inspectors "It's not in the GOM."

Sometimes, you won't be able to answer one of the questions from a Fed. If you don't have the knowledge, or resource, put there buzzing around, it might be something the company needs to fix.
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That is good advice. The inspectors seemed satisfied with everything that I showed them. The scale issue was something that they planned to take up with the company. I'll let the Ram Air management handle it from there. :) I did my job.
 
At my last job (charter/ management), for the 135 legs we had to weigh each bag, and our scale had to be less than 1 year old. The manufacture says they are “guaranteed for one year”, so we keep the receipt to prove date of purchase. They cost more to calibrate then to just buy a new one, so every 12 months someone takes it home and we buy a new one.
 
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