I was on QF74 out of SFO last night (B747), on the forward aisle upstairs. The ground crew guy went to the coughpit with the 'last minute paperwork', as usual.
When it seemed to be taking longer than usual, I took an interest. For five minutes more the guy was talking to the crew (I could see the SO in the middle seat), then the ground guy went onto his knees and appeared to be looking for something within his document(s) for a further five minutes.
Then he left and we soon departed.
My question is, what sort of issue might require discussion between the ground guy and the crew for over 10 minutes and some intensive paperwork checking by the ground guy? (I don't know of course if others were involved via radio). I thought the 'paperwork' was a statement of fact - weights, pax numbers etc. I guess the crew could query something, but then it wouldn't fill you with confidence if there was an error in, say the weights reported.
