A319 was issued a pre departure clearance in slc with an edeth one RNAV departure. Once airborne; it...

Attributes
ACN	781957
Time
Date	200804
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : slc.airport
State Reference	UT
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : s56.tracon
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	other
Flight Phase	climbout : vacating altitude
Route In Use	departure sid : edeth
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	781957
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : departure
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Chart Or Publication ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	Ambiguous

Narrative:

Received pre departure clearance with a change in the departure SID to the edeth one RNAV. The SID calls for a climb to FL230 after departure. Our pre departure clearance did not give an altitude so we assumed we were cleared to FL230. After takeoff I called departure and told them; 'climbing to FL230.' they responded with a restriction to climb to 10000 ft. Departure control wanted to know why we did not have the 10000 ft altitude in our pre departure clearance. I told them there was not an altitude restriction printed on the pre departure clearance. Not sure what caused the pre departure clearance to not give altitude. Called the tower chief and he told me that his strip had the altitude of 10000 ft. Not sure how this happened. Only thing I can think of is pre departure clearance sending glitch. No altitude restriction was broken. Just an observation. I think it is not a good system to have an RNAV SID and to have ATC change everything including speed and altitude. I am wondering what percent of flights actually fly the RNAV SID as charted. Cleared to FL230 in slc would seem highly unlikely most of the time with the way traffic flow is there.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 WAS ISSUED A PDC IN SLC WITH AN EDETH ONE RNAV DEP. ONCE AIRBORNE; IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A 10000 FT ALT RESTRICTION SHOULD ALSO HAVE BEEN SPECIFIED IN THE PDC.

Narrative: RECEIVED PDC WITH A CHANGE IN THE DEPARTURE SID TO THE EDETH ONE RNAV. THE SID CALLS FOR A CLIMB TO FL230 AFTER DEPARTURE. OUR PDC DID NOT GIVE AN ALTITUDE SO WE ASSUMED WE WERE CLEARED TO FL230. AFTER TAKEOFF I CALLED DEPARTURE AND TOLD THEM; 'CLIMBING TO FL230.' THEY RESPONDED WITH A RESTRICTION TO CLIMB TO 10000 FT. DEPARTURE CONTROL WANTED TO KNOW WHY WE DID NOT HAVE THE 10000 FT ALT IN OUR PDC. I TOLD THEM THERE WAS NOT AN ALT RESTRICTION PRINTED ON THE PDC. NOT SURE WHAT CAUSED THE PDC TO NOT GIVE ALT. CALLED THE TOWER CHIEF AND HE TOLD ME THAT HIS STRIP HAD THE ALT OF 10000 FT. NOT SURE HOW THIS HAPPENED. ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF IS PDC SENDING GLITCH. NO ALT RESTRICTION WAS BROKEN. JUST AN OBSERVATION. I THINK IT IS NOT A GOOD SYSTEM TO HAVE AN RNAV SID AND TO HAVE ATC CHANGE EVERYTHING INCLUDING SPEED AND ALT. I AM WONDERING WHAT PERCENT OF FLIGHTS ACTUALLY FLY THE RNAV SID AS CHARTED. CLEARED TO FL230 IN SLC WOULD SEEM HIGHLY UNLIKELY MOST OF THE TIME WITH THE WAY TRAFFIC FLOW IS THERE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.

A319 was issued a pre departure clearance in slc with an edeth one RNAV departure. Once airborne; it was discovered that a 10000 ft altitude restriction should also have been specified in the pre departure clearance.