Narrative:

We were distraction by inbound crew's logbook write-ups that were not signed off. That, with the fact that maintenance was on board and the flight attendants were asking questions about the lavatories in the back, compounded our distrs that the tower didn't open until XA00 and we were without our clearance and when we finally received the clearance the controller never said 'readback correct' as we usually hear it, but made a comment instead. Now we have a bad clearance with the wrong departure. We did not realize this until airborne. We started a turn and contacted departure and mentioned our problem who then gave us a heading of 180 degrees which was 60 degrees from runway heading which we were supposed to be on. Then, as we briefly talked about it and got our charts out for the correct departure, we were vectored to a normal heading and normal departure. As this was in our minds, we missed a turn on the departure page to our next VOR. I believe we could have prevented this from happening by studying the departure page more and xchking the departure heading with runway in use. We basically looked at the chart 'backwards' and thought we were supposed to fly what was depicted and failed to recognize that the departure plate was for the opposite runway. The captain's ego played a role also as she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and needed to prove herself as a female in the cockpit. She had been making comments about how women aren't considered to be able to have the same abilities or status as men and her pompous attitude helped push us into this situation. This was very evident from the previous flts we've flown together. I will try to talk to my capts in the future and hope to avoid such problems when I upgrade.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: LGT FLC FOLLOWED THE WRONG SIDE DEP DURING INITIAL CLB RESULTING IN DEP CTLR INTERVENTION AND VECTORS TO ASSIGNED COURSE.

Narrative: WE WERE DISTR BY INBOUND CREW'S LOGBOOK WRITE-UPS THAT WERE NOT SIGNED OFF. THAT, WITH THE FACT THAT MAINT WAS ON BOARD AND THE FLT ATTENDANTS WERE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAVATORIES IN THE BACK, COMPOUNDED OUR DISTRS THAT THE TWR DIDN'T OPEN UNTIL XA00 AND WE WERE WITHOUT OUR CLRNC AND WHEN WE FINALLY RECEIVED THE CLRNC THE CTLR NEVER SAID 'READBACK CORRECT' AS WE USUALLY HEAR IT, BUT MADE A COMMENT INSTEAD. NOW WE HAVE A BAD CLRNC WITH THE WRONG DEP. WE DID NOT REALIZE THIS UNTIL AIRBORNE. WE STARTED A TURN AND CONTACTED DEP AND MENTIONED OUR PROB WHO THEN GAVE US A HDG OF 180 DEGS WHICH WAS 60 DEGS FROM RWY HDG WHICH WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON. THEN, AS WE BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT IT AND GOT OUR CHARTS OUT FOR THE CORRECT DEP, WE WERE VECTORED TO A NORMAL HDG AND NORMAL DEP. AS THIS WAS IN OUR MINDS, WE MISSED A TURN ON THE DEP PAGE TO OUR NEXT VOR. I BELIEVE WE COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS FROM HAPPENING BY STUDYING THE DEP PAGE MORE AND XCHKING THE DEP HDG WITH RWY IN USE. WE BASICALLY LOOKED AT THE CHART 'BACKWARDS' AND THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO FLY WHAT WAS DEPICTED AND FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE DEP PLATE WAS FOR THE OPPOSITE RWY. THE CAPT'S EGO PLAYED A ROLE ALSO AS SHE SEEMED TO HAVE A CHIP ON HER SHOULDER AND NEEDED TO PROVE HERSELF AS A FEMALE IN THE COCKPIT. SHE HAD BEEN MAKING COMMENTS ABOUT HOW WOMEN AREN'T CONSIDERED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE SAME ABILITIES OR STATUS AS MEN AND HER POMPOUS ATTITUDE HELPED PUSH US INTO THIS SIT. THIS WAS VERY EVIDENT FROM THE PREVIOUS FLTS WE'VE FLOWN TOGETHER. I WILL TRY TO TALK TO MY CAPTS IN THE FUTURE AND HOPE TO AVOID SUCH PROBS WHEN I UPGRADE.

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.