A B737 flight crew failed to properly brief departure, which led to a lack of positional awareness.

Attributes
ACN	583087
Time
Date	200305
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : dca.airport
State Reference	DC
Altitude	agl bound lower : 300 agl bound upper : 400
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : dca.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 : multi engine pilot : instrument pilot : commercial
ASRS Report	583087
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : weather other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Airspace Structure
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance

Narrative:

On the departure from dca encountered IMC conditions. Turned to a heading of approximately 300 degrees after reaching 400 ft AGL, to intercept the 328 degree radial from dca. Captain instructed me to turn to a heading of 280 degrees to intercept. We entered the clouds at 400 ft, not sure if bank angle was sufficient to remain clear of dca. Bank angle was 20-25 degrees for turn. Seemed to be some confusion after takeoff as to where the radial was, we were in raw data. Pretty sure we did not clip the P-56 area, but you never know. I think a more thorough pre-departure briefing should have been conducted. It was my first departure from dca.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 FLT CREW FAILED TO PROPERLY BRIEF DEP, WHICH LED TO A LACK OF POSITIONAL AWARENESS.

Narrative: ON THE DEP FROM DCA ENCOUNTERED IMC CONDITIONS. TURNED TO A HEADING OF APPROX 300 DEGS AFTER REACHING 400 FT AGL, TO INTERCEPT THE 328 DEG RADIAL FROM DCA. CAPT INSTRUCTED ME TO TURN TO A HEADING OF 280 DEGS TO INTERCEPT. WE ENTERED THE CLOUDS AT 400 FT, NOT SURE IF BANK ANGLE WAS SUFFICIENT TO REMAIN CLR OF DCA. BANK ANGLE WAS 20-25 DEGS FOR TURN. SEEMED TO BE SOME CONFUSION AFTER TKOF AS TO WHERE THE RADIAL WAS, WE WERE IN RAW DATA. PRETTY SURE WE DID NOT CLIP THE P-56 AREA, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW. I THINK A MORE THOROUGH PRE-DEP BRIEFING SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED. IT WAS MY FIRST DEP FROM DCA.

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.