Narrative:

My first officer was flying out of FL270 to FL280 when washington center issued a traffic advisory. Washington center reported traffic six miles at 11 o'clock. Very soon the target became an RA. I waited 5 seconds and when my first officer did not disconnect the autopilot; I called 'my controls' disconnected the autopilot and climbed through my assigned altitude of FL280 up to 28;800 ft. Upon doing so; washington center promptly asked what my altitude was. I responded 28;800 and that I just had a RA and that I needed to climb to avoid the traffic and be clear of the conflict. Washington centers' response was; 'you had an RA? It seems you climbed into the traffic.' my first officer and I never heard any advisory from the TCAS system. We both noticed the red block symbolizing the target we needed to avoid. I noticed a red arc on my vsi from 0 to 4000 FPM. It was determined that the event occurred by the initial warning from ATC. Then the symbology on the mfd of the red target as well as the escape guidance on the vsi was the evidence the event occurred. I believe this event occurred because at the time my spatial awareness was poor and my interpretation of the vsi symbology was incorrect. Perhaps additional training for myself and the pilot group would help. Once identified; I disconnected the autopilot and began a climb to avoid the conflict. Once clear of the conflict I returned back to my assigned altitude. I suggest additional training for all pilots at the airline as well as additional training for myself to examine my actions and the situation personally to enhance pilot performance for future conflicts.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier climbing out of FL270 for FL280 received TCAS alert and initiated a climb into the conflicting traffic; reporter acknowledging poor spatial awareness during the event.

Narrative: My First Officer was flying out of FL270 to FL280 when Washington Center issued a traffic advisory. Washington Center reported traffic six miles at 11 o'clock. Very soon the target became an RA. I waited 5 seconds and when my First Officer did not disconnect the autopilot; I called 'my controls' disconnected the autopilot and climbed through my assigned altitude of FL280 up to 28;800 FT. Upon doing so; Washington Center promptly asked what my altitude was. I responded 28;800 and that I just had a RA and that I needed to climb to avoid the traffic and be clear of the conflict. Washington Centers' response was; 'You had an RA? It seems you climbed into the traffic.' My First Officer and I never heard any advisory from the TCAS system. We both noticed the red block symbolizing the target we needed to avoid. I noticed a red arc on my VSI from 0 to 4000 FPM. It was determined that the event occurred by the initial warning from ATC. Then the symbology on the MFD of the red target as well as the escape guidance on the VSI was the evidence the event occurred. I believe this event occurred because at the time my spatial awareness was poor and my interpretation of the VSI symbology was incorrect. Perhaps additional training for myself and the pilot group would help. Once identified; I disconnected the autopilot and began a climb to avoid the conflict. Once clear of the conflict I returned back to my assigned altitude. I suggest additional training for all pilots at the airline as well as additional training for myself to examine my actions and the situation personally to enhance pilot performance for future conflicts.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.