Narrative:

Departing vny; as PIC (pilot in command) I was pilot monitoring. Departed runway 16R on the CONOGA2. Initial heading of 163 to the 2.2 DME of the vny VOR; restricted to at or below 1;700 ft.; then a heading of 213 and climb to 4;000 ft. After passing the 2.2 DME; the PF (pilot flying) turned to the heading of 213; which is towards a couple of peaks of the mountains south of vny; and continued the climb. I was monitoring inside checking altitudes and headings. At this time the GPWS activated and called 'terrain! Terrain!'. I told the PF to turn to the right to avoid the mountains and turned the heading bug away from the terrain. I simply reacted to the situation to be safe. (Looking back now; we were still safe and able to avoid the terrain with the climb.) almost immediately; socal warned us of a low altitude alert; and told us to return to the original heading; and that the departure was a low terrain departure. Socal continued to give us additional headings to avoid the terrain and bring us back on course of the initial 213; and told us we should not be turning until directed to do so by ATC; continually reminded us it was a low terrain departure; and gave us step climbs. The controller then gave us a hand off; and the next controller gave us a number to call for a 'possible pilot deviation'.after reaching cruise altitude; I texted the company chief pilot; and relayed the situation. When we landed I spoke with the chief pilot before calling the number for socal. He informed me there have been over 100 deviations filed this year associated with this departure; and he was certain that we would not be the last crew that would cause a deviation. He explained the altitudes and the headings of the departure; and that they are there to provide proper separation for the arrival corridor for bur. I thanked him for his information and then explained to him the action that I had taken and why. I then thanked him again for his information; and that I would pass it along within our company; and that I had already spoke with the company chief pilot about the situation; and it was passed along to our director of operations. I also told him I would be filing a NASA report; as well as within our company. He said no action would be taken against us as a crew; and appreciated us talking with him and the corrective actions I was taking. He also stated he would like to see some kind of modification done to the departure to prevent so many deviations; and that it would hopefully be done soon.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DA2000 Captain reported taking evasive action in response to a GPWS terrain alert departing VNY that took him off course; prompting a call from ATC.

Narrative: Departing VNY; as PIC (Pilot in Command) I was Pilot Monitoring. Departed Runway 16R on the CONOGA2. Initial heading of 163 to the 2.2 DME of the VNY VOR; restricted to at or below 1;700 ft.; then a heading of 213 and climb to 4;000 ft. After passing the 2.2 DME; the PF (Pilot Flying) turned to the heading of 213; which is towards a couple of peaks of the mountains south of VNY; and continued the climb. I was monitoring inside checking altitudes and headings. At this time the GPWS activated and called 'Terrain! Terrain!'. I told the PF to turn to the right to avoid the mountains and turned the heading bug away from the terrain. I simply reacted to the situation to be safe. (Looking back now; we were still safe and able to avoid the terrain with the climb.) Almost immediately; SoCal warned us of a low altitude alert; and told us to return to the original heading; and that the departure was a low terrain departure. SoCal continued to give us additional headings to avoid the terrain and bring us back on course of the initial 213; and told us we should not be turning until directed to do so by ATC; continually reminded us it was a low terrain departure; and gave us step climbs. The Controller then gave us a hand off; and the next Controller gave us a number to call for a 'Possible Pilot Deviation'.After reaching cruise altitude; I texted the company Chief Pilot; and relayed the situation. When we landed I spoke with the Chief Pilot before calling the number for SoCal. He informed me there have been over 100 deviations filed this year associated with this departure; and he was certain that we would not be the last crew that would cause a deviation. He explained the altitudes and the headings of the departure; and that they are there to provide proper separation for the arrival corridor for BUR. I thanked him for his information and then explained to him the action that I had taken and why. I then thanked him again for his information; and that I would pass it along within our company; and that I had already spoke with the company Chief Pilot about the situation; and it was passed along to our Director of Operations. I also told him I would be filing a NASA report; as well as within our company. He said no action would be taken against us as a crew; and appreciated us talking with him and the corrective actions I was taking. He also stated he would like to see some kind of modification done to the departure to prevent so many deviations; and that it would hopefully be done soon.

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.