Narrative:

While climbing out passing 14;000 ft. We received a cpdlc message. As soon as we went heads down to read it; center informed us of VFR traffic to our 1-2 o'clock; climbing through 14;200 ft. And they stated that we would probably out-climb them. We visually acquired them at around 14;500 ft. And confirmed we were climbing faster. Just after that radio call we got a TCAS TA for that traffic. After passing them and being clear of the conflict we turn our attention back to the cpdlc message. It was instructing us to turn right direct to a fix. From our course to this fix; this would have put us in direct conflict with the VFR traffic had we complied immediately. In fact; on this sequence; we noticed for the first time ATC using cpdlc to give altitude and course changes. Additionally; we received a cpdlc message immediately after landing; just stating that cpdlc is no longer in use. Since this is the same chime used when the flight attendants call; the first thought was that something was going on in the cabin. In both of these cases the high low chime and message on the FMS only served as distractions as there were bigger threats outside of the aircraft that required our attention. This doesn't instill confidence that ATC is properly using cpdlc or that it is having unintended negative consequences. Task saturation on both ATC and pilots having to monitor cpdlc messages while simultaneously talk on the radio and monitor radar or pfd screens. Distractions that cause both pilots to go heads down lowers the overall situational awareness of the crew. Cpdlc messages; particularly ones involving altitude or course changes; should be restricted to class a airspace where VFR traffic is no longer a factor and flight separation is more controlled and predictable. Additionally; nuisance cpdlc messages; such as those stating that cpdlc is no longer in use; should be suppressed below 10;000 ft.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew reported conflicting radio and CPDLC messages from ATC that could have resulted in a traffic conflict.

Narrative: While climbing out passing 14;000 ft. we received a CPDLC message. As soon as we went heads down to read it; Center informed us of VFR traffic to our 1-2 o'clock; climbing through 14;200 ft. and they stated that we would probably out-climb them. We visually acquired them at around 14;500 ft. and confirmed we were climbing faster. Just after that radio call we got a TCAS TA for that traffic. After passing them and being clear of the conflict we turn our attention back to the CPDLC message. It was instructing us to turn right direct to a fix. From our course to this fix; this would have put us in direct conflict with the VFR traffic had we complied immediately. In fact; on this sequence; we noticed for the first time ATC using CPDLC to give altitude and course changes. Additionally; we received a CPDLC message immediately after landing; just stating that CPDLC is no longer in use. Since this is the same chime used when the flight attendants call; the first thought was that something was going on in the cabin. In both of these cases the high low chime and message on the FMS only served as distractions as there were bigger threats outside of the aircraft that required our attention. This doesn't instill confidence that ATC is properly using CPDLC or that it is having unintended negative consequences. Task saturation on both ATC and pilots having to monitor CPDLC messages while simultaneously talk on the radio and monitor radar or PFD screens. Distractions that cause both pilots to go heads down lowers the overall situational awareness of the crew. CPDLC messages; particularly ones involving altitude or course changes; should be restricted to Class A airspace where VFR traffic is no longer a factor and flight separation is more controlled and predictable. Additionally; nuisance CPDLC messages; such as those stating that CPDLC is no longer in use; should be suppressed below 10;000 ft.

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.