Pilot calls into controller; but controller does not hear altitude climbing to in initial call up. P...

Narrative:

I was working west departure and north satellite combined at west departure. Throughout the day aircraft heading westbound had been shipped to the wrong departure frequency consistently 6-7 times in a row from the tower even after the tower was told to use 135.27 for the mykie/noony departures. Around this time was when I called the supervisor over to talk to them to tell the tower to use the right frequency. While I was discussing this with the supervisor; aircraft X departed ord with a check in climbing to 10;000. Because I was talking with the supervisor I failed to hear the altitude climbing too; but heard the altitude leaving. After I was done talking with the supervisor; I called aircraft X radar contact. I was talking to a few other aircraft at the time; when I noticed that aircraft X was climbing out of 8;500 ft. I immediately asked aircraft X the altitude climbing to and the pilot responded with 10;000 ft via the SID departure. He then asked what altitude the aircraft should be at and I responded with 5;000. At that point I realized that a mile southwest of his position was an ord arrival heading westbound descending out of 7;700 for 7;000. This in my opinion was the most dangerous part of the incident because had either aircraft been delayed by another 30 seconds; the situation could have been catastrophic. Upon further talking to the pilot; he informed me that on the SID he was confused and thought they were to climb to 10;000. I asked the pilot what he was issued on the ground and he said 10;000 from his electronic flight plan. The main item that has changed is the controller is no longer issuing an initial altitude on departure like they used to. They feel that everything is automated and that the less they need to do the better. In my opinion the automation and the issued clearance need to be changed. At some point a controller (aka actual person) needs to issue the pilot 5;000 on departure with the local controller or on initial check in with the departure controller.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Pilot calls into Controller; but Controller does not hear altitude climbing to in initial call up. Pilots have incorrect altitude set in altitude box; and bust altitude causing an airborne conflict.

Narrative: I was working west departure and north satellite combined at west departure. Throughout the day aircraft heading westbound had been shipped to the wrong Departure frequency consistently 6-7 times in a row from the Tower even after the Tower was told to use 135.27 for the Mykie/Noony departures. Around this time was when I called the Supervisor over to talk to them to tell the Tower to use the right frequency. While I was discussing this with the Supervisor; Aircraft X departed ORD with a check in climbing to 10;000. Because I was talking with the Supervisor I failed to hear the altitude climbing too; but heard the altitude leaving. After I was done talking with the Supervisor; I called Aircraft X radar contact. I was talking to a few other aircraft at the time; when I noticed that Aircraft X was climbing out of 8;500 FT. I immediately asked Aircraft X the altitude climbing to and the pilot responded with 10;000 FT via the SID departure. He then asked what altitude the aircraft should be at and I responded with 5;000. At that point I realized that a mile southwest of his position was an ORD arrival heading westbound descending out of 7;700 for 7;000. This in my opinion was the most dangerous part of the incident because had either aircraft been delayed by another 30 seconds; the situation could have been catastrophic. Upon further talking to the pilot; he informed me that on the SID he was confused and thought they were to climb to 10;000. I asked the pilot what he was issued on the ground and he said 10;000 from his electronic flight plan. The main item that has changed is the Controller is no longer issuing an initial altitude on departure like they used to. They feel that everything is automated and that the less they need to do the better. In my opinion the automation and the issued clearance need to be changed. At some point a Controller (aka actual person) needs to issue the pilot 5;000 on departure with the Local Controller or on initial check in with the Departure Controller.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1167109
Time
Date	201404
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ORD.Airport
State Reference	IL
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Departure
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 2.2
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 19000 Flight Crew Type 15000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Critical Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Pilot calls into controller; but controller does not hear altitude climbing to in initial call up. Pilots have incorrect altitude set in altitude box; and bust altitude causing an airborne conflict.