B737-800 flight crew reported a track deviation resulted when they misinterpreted their clearance th...

Narrative:

We received our clearance via controller pilot data link communications (cpdlc). The first officer and I reviewed the message together and we were in agreement that the 'revised route' as stated in the header was the SID which read 'except maintain 7000' as this was directly below and in the free text area. Pages 2 and 3 of the message had no further indication of any changes either. Our flight progress log received after takeoff also did not reflect ATC's new route. Climbing out with los angeles center we were advised of a possible pilot deviation due to routing. The cpdlc header led us to believe that what followed was the revised segment. The format of the cpdlc message followed the flow of the pre departure clearance format so it seemed very logical that the revised route was the SID altitude exception.I should have contacted clearance delivery for clarification since this is a new system. Also; the cpdlc briefing bulletin should be reviewed each time cpdlc is used.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 flight crew reported a track deviation resulted when they misinterpreted their clearance that was received via a new Controller Pilot Data Link Communications procedure.

Narrative: We received our clearance via Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC). The First Officer and I reviewed the message together and we were in agreement that the 'revised route' as stated in the header was the SID which read 'except maintain 7000' as this was directly below and in the FREE TEXT area. Pages 2 and 3 of the message had no further indication of any changes either. Our Flight Progress log received after takeoff also did not reflect ATC's new route. Climbing out with Los Angeles Center we were advised of a possible pilot deviation due to routing. The CPDLC header led us to believe that what followed was the revised segment. The format of the CPDLC message followed the flow of the PDC format so it seemed very logical that the revised route was the SID altitude exception.I should have contacted Clearance Delivery for clarification since this is a new system. Also; the CPDLC briefing bulletin should be reviewed each time CPDLC is used.

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	1380581
Time
Date	201608
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ONT.Airport
State Reference	CA
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-800
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

B737-800 flight crew reported a track deviation resulted when they misinterpreted their clearance that was received via a new controller pilot data link communications procedure.