MD80 crew off runway 30R at stl received a TCASII RA at 400 ft and were unaware that an air carrier had departed simultaneously off runway 30L.

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Attributes
ACN	556671
Time
Date	200208
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : stl.airport
State Reference	MO
Altitude	agl single value : 400
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : stl.tower
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	MD-80 Super 80
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	other
Flight Phase	climbout : initial climbout : takeoff
Route In Use	departure : on vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Controlling Facilities	tower : stl.tower
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	climbout : initial
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	556671
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : undershoot conflict : airborne critical non adherence : published procedure non adherence : required legal separation
Independent Detector	aircraft equipment : tcas other flight crewa other flight crewb
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance flight crew : returned to intended or assigned course flight crew : took evasive action
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Intra Facility Coordination Failure Operational Error

Narrative:

Took off runway 30R in stl. At 400 ft afl, TCASII called 'monitor vertical speed,' followed immediately by 'descend.' as this was happening, the stl tower controller radioed us to say, 'air carrier X, contact departure after you start your turn to heading 340 degrees.' the captain looked out the left window just as he was starting to push the nose over, obviously we weren't happy about having TCASII tell us to descend at approximately 2000 FPM at that low altitude. We saw air carrier Y jet that had just taken off runway 30L. No instructions to turn to heading 340 degrees had been given prior to takeoff. We turned to 340 degrees and TCASII called 'clear of conflict.' there were 2 problems here. The tower obviously meant to tell us to turn to 340 degrees after takeoff, but didn't. We didn't know the other jet was departing parallel to us, because runway 30R and runway 30L use different tower frequencys. The first is just a human error. The second is a procedural trap and should be fixed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 CREW OFF RWY 30R AT STL RECEIVED A TCASII RA AT 400 FT AND WERE UNAWARE THAT AN ACR HAD DEPARTED SIMULTANEOUSLY OFF RWY 30L.

Narrative: TOOK OFF RWY 30R IN STL. AT 400 FT AFL, TCASII CALLED 'MONITOR VERT SPD,' FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY 'DSND.' AS THIS WAS HAPPENING, THE STL TWR CTLR RADIOED US TO SAY, 'ACR X, CONTACT DEP AFTER YOU START YOUR TURN TO HEADING 340 DEGS.' THE CAPT LOOKED OUT THE L WINDOW JUST AS HE WAS STARTING TO PUSH THE NOSE OVER, OBVIOUSLY WE WEREN'T HAPPY ABOUT HAVING TCASII TELL US TO DSND AT APPROX 2000 FPM AT THAT LOW ALT. WE SAW ACR Y JET THAT HAD JUST TAKEN OFF RWY 30L. NO INSTRUCTIONS TO TURN TO HEADING 340 DEGS HAD BEEN GIVEN PRIOR TO TKOF. WE TURNED TO 340 DEGS AND TCASII CALLED 'CLR OF CONFLICT.' THERE WERE 2 PROBS HERE. THE TWR OBVIOUSLY MEANT TO TELL US TO TURN TO 340 DEGS AFTER TKOF, BUT DIDN'T. WE DIDN'T KNOW THE OTHER JET WAS DEPARTING PARALLEL TO US, BECAUSE RWY 30R AND RWY 30L USE DIFFERENT TWR FREQS. THE FIRST IS JUST A HUMAN ERROR. THE SECOND IS A PROCEDURAL TRAP AND SHOULD BE FIXED.

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.