Narrative:

Aircraft X departed on the LOUPE4 SID. The pilot did not turn to the 123 heading as per SID. I questioned the pilot when I noticed he was heading northbound. The pilot read back turning to heading 123 in a manner that indicated to me he had no intention of turning [to] that heading on his own. I vectored the aircraft away from adjacent airspace and other aircraft prior to getting him back on the SID.this occurrence happens far too many times. We as departure controllers are subject to these errors far too many times. This SID has proven over and over that it is a poorly designed procedure in a very complex part of TRACON airspace. All anyone needs to do is review a history of how many times this happens; and one can come to an easy conclusion that there is something wrong with the departure procedures. Time and time again there have been separation events due to the 'runaway' SID. As a matter of fact; I had another 'runaway' SID just 7 minutes prior to this event. I have suggested in the past that since sjc tower is a radar tower; and is responsible for successive departure separation; they should ensure all aircraft are in the right turn prior to communications transfer. Tower does not and will not stop departures even though there is a runaway LOUPE4 SID. The departure controller is subject to a tremendous responsibility to point out the runaway; get them on vectors away from adjacent airspace and other aircraft. All the while; automatic departures are still being cleared for takeoff. If sjc tower were to be responsible for ensuring the aircraft are in the turn prior to frequency change; then they would be more reluctant to keep departures going until ensured separation exists. Until there are changes to departure procedures; there will continue to be these kind of events being filed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: NCT Departure Controller and an Air Carrier flight crew reported the flight crew flew the SID incorrectly.

Narrative: Aircraft X departed on the LOUPE4 SID. The pilot did not turn to the 123 heading as per SID. I questioned the pilot when I noticed he was heading northbound. The pilot read back turning to heading 123 in a manner that indicated to me he had no intention of turning [to] that heading on his own. I vectored the aircraft away from adjacent airspace and other aircraft prior to getting him back on the SID.This occurrence happens far too many times. We as departure controllers are subject to these errors far too many times. This SID has proven over and over that it is a poorly designed procedure in a very complex part of TRACON airspace. All anyone needs to do is review a history of how many times this happens; and one can come to an easy conclusion that there is something wrong with the departure procedures. Time and time again there have been separation events due to the 'runaway' SID. As a matter of fact; I had another 'runaway' SID just 7 minutes prior to this event. I have suggested in the past that since SJC Tower is a radar tower; and is responsible for successive Departure separation; they should ensure all aircraft are in the right turn prior to communications transfer. Tower does not and will not stop departures even though there is a runaway LOUPE4 SID. The departure controller is subject to a tremendous responsibility to point out the runaway; get them on vectors away from adjacent airspace and other aircraft. All the while; automatic departures are still being cleared for takeoff. If SJC Tower were to be responsible for ensuring the aircraft are in the turn prior to frequency change; then they would be more reluctant to keep departures going until ensured separation exists. Until there are changes to departure procedures; there will continue to be these kind of events being filed.

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.