Narrative:

I picked up our pre-departure clearance at the counter in the terminal area about 15 mins before departure. It was a full flight to iah and I reviewed the clearance as I fought my way through the packed jetway to the cockpit. As I entered my seat and began to review the departure and planned route of flight, the APU shut down on its own. There was no external power plugged in and no ground personnel in sight. I let the first officer continue cockpit set up and went in to operations to get ground power hooked up and a mechanic to look at the APU. When I got back to the cockpit, we ran the pre-departure checklists, started engines, and taxied for takeoff. We were cleared for takeoff on runway 1R with a simultaneous takeoff on runway 1L. Our pre-departure clearance had us on a porte 7 departure (intercept the 350 degree radial) and after takeoff when tower cleared us to bay departure control with a turn to 030 degree heading, we questioned which departure we were assigned. Tower impatiently informed us we were on the san francisco 6 which we then complied with. Later, reviewing our pre-departure clearance, I found the problem was the pre-departure clearance I was given was for mar/sun, not mar/mon. With the APU problem, the first officer failed to verify the squawk which would have caught the error. There's no excuse for my missing the date on the pre-departure clearance, but I thought this was another example of how a series of events can lead to a hazardous situation. Luckily we were VFR and sfo tower's excellent procedure of giving us our initial heading prior to handing off also helped the situation. I'm also going to check with the chief pilot to find out how we can get a clearance that is a day old out of the computer.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN ACR MLG TOOK OFF WITH THE CLRNC FOR THE FLT OF THE DAY PREVIOUS.

Narrative: I PICKED UP OUR PRE-DEP CLRNC AT THE COUNTER IN THE TERMINAL AREA ABOUT 15 MINS BEFORE DEP. IT WAS A FULL FLT TO IAH AND I REVIEWED THE CLRNC AS I FOUGHT MY WAY THROUGH THE PACKED JETWAY TO THE COCKPIT. AS I ENTERED MY SEAT AND BEGAN TO REVIEW THE DEP AND PLANNED RTE OF FLT, THE APU SHUT DOWN ON ITS OWN. THERE WAS NO EXTERNAL PWR PLUGGED IN AND NO GND PERSONNEL IN SIGHT. I LET THE FO CONTINUE COCKPIT SET UP AND WENT IN TO OPS TO GET GND PWR HOOKED UP AND A MECH TO LOOK AT THE APU. WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE COCKPIT, WE RAN THE PRE-DEP CHKLISTS, STARTED ENGS, AND TAXIED FOR TKOF. WE WERE CLRED FOR TKOF ON RWY 1R WITH A SIMULTANEOUS TKOF ON RWY 1L. OUR PRE-DEP CLRNC HAD US ON A PORTE 7 DEP (INTERCEPT THE 350 DEG RADIAL) AND AFTER TKOF WHEN TWR CLRED US TO BAY DEP CTL WITH A TURN TO 030 DEG HDG, WE QUESTIONED WHICH DEP WE WERE ASSIGNED. TWR IMPATIENTLY INFORMED US WE WERE ON THE SAN FRANCISCO 6 WHICH WE THEN COMPLIED WITH. LATER, REVIEWING OUR PRE-DEP CLRNC, I FOUND THE PROB WAS THE PRE-DEP CLRNC I WAS GIVEN WAS FOR MAR/SUN, NOT MAR/MON. WITH THE APU PROB, THE FO FAILED TO VERIFY THE SQUAWK WHICH WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THE ERROR. THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR MY MISSING THE DATE ON THE PRE-DEP CLRNC, BUT I THOUGHT THIS WAS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW A SERIES OF EVENTS CAN LEAD TO A HAZARDOUS SIT. LUCKILY WE WERE VFR AND SFO TWR'S EXCELLENT PROC OF GIVING US OUR INITIAL HDG PRIOR TO HANDING OFF ALSO HELPED THE SIT. I'M ALSO GOING TO CHK WITH THE CHIEF PLT TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN GET A CLRNC THAT IS A DAY OLD OUT OF THE COMPUTER.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.