Narrative:

We were scheduled to take a crj 700 on a passenger revenue trip however; due to multiple cancellations and maintenance issues; we wound up taking an empty jet instead. Nevertheless; we requested cargo load report (clear) from ramp crew and prepared the manifest. Upon running the number -- w/ negative bags -- ACARS returned a solution indicating a need for ballast (in the forward cargo area). The captain relayed the information to ramp personnel -- face to face -- and the ramp personnel relayed the information to their operations office to process and authorize the request. Shortly thereafter; ramp personnel returned to the flight deck and advised they'd place 400 pounds of ballast onboard the aircraft -- in the forward cargo area -- and handed us a new clear which indicated the same. We continued our checklists and tasks and proceeded without incident. Upon our arrival and after shutdown; the captain advised ramp personnel we we'd arrived with 400 pounds of ballast and they were welcome to it. During my prefight walk around; the ramp crew advised there was absolutely no ballast aboard the aircraft. I returned to flight deck and informed the captain. A moment later; as we prepared for the return flight; ramp personnel came up to the flight deck and reconfirmed what they'd told me earlier -- there was no ballast aboard when we arrived. The ramp crew [from origin airport] said they'd put it on and never did.the requirement for [company] ramp crews to seek permission and authorization from [company] operations when the need for ballast arises removes ramp crew autonomy and adds an extra layer of oversight to a process that may not need it. Remove [company] operations personnel from the equation...allow ramp crew chief to execute the loading of ballast upon request from the flight crew.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-700 First Officer reported they were notified at arrival station that their requested ballast was not loaded.

Narrative: We were scheduled to take a CRJ 700 on a passenger revenue trip however; due to multiple cancellations and maintenance issues; we wound up taking an empty jet instead. Nevertheless; we requested cargo load report (CLR) from ramp crew and prepared the manifest. Upon running the number -- w/ negative bags -- ACARS returned a solution indicating a need for ballast (in the forward cargo area). The Captain relayed the information to Ramp Personnel -- face to face -- and the Ramp Personnel relayed the information to their Operations office to process and authorize the request. Shortly thereafter; Ramp Personnel returned to the flight deck and advised they'd place 400 pounds of ballast onboard the aircraft -- in the forward cargo area -- and handed us a new CLR which indicated the same. We continued our checklists and tasks and proceeded without incident. Upon our arrival and after shutdown; the Captain advised Ramp Personnel we we'd arrived with 400 pounds of ballast and they were welcome to it. During my prefight walk around; the ramp crew advised there was absolutely NO ballast aboard the aircraft. I returned to flight deck and informed the Captain. A moment later; as we prepared for the return flight; Ramp Personnel came up to the flight deck and reconfirmed what they'd told me earlier -- there was NO ballast aboard when we arrived. The ramp crew [from origin airport] said they'd put it on and never did.The requirement for [company] ramp crews to seek permission and authorization from [company] operations when the need for ballast arises removes ramp crew autonomy and adds an extra layer of oversight to a process that may not need it. Remove [company] operations personnel from the equation...allow ramp crew chief to execute the loading of ballast upon request from the flight crew.

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.