Narrative:

First officer picked up clearance from ric. ATC stated 'cleared via COLIN5 V16...'. I input this into the FMS as COLIN5 departure; which ends at colin intersection; then V16 starting there. The first officer mentioned they he had issues before and couldn't remember what the problem was with the routing so we verified. ATC did indeed want us flying the COLIN5 departure colin transition then picking up V16 there. The issue is V16 also starts at ric VOR; so you can actually input into the FMS ric V16... This would be wrong and brings you significantly off course; and is what he and the captain did last week; and ATC queried them for being off course. I have a feeling people are doing this because ATC doesn't specify to go to the colin transition; and the initial instructions on the plate are to fly a heading; so they assume they just fly the heading and then pick up V16 starting at ric.while taxiing into ric gate I heard two other aircraft query ATC as to the correct routing and verify ATC wanted them to fly the entire COLIN5 departure including model and colin intersections; then pick up V16. I told the controller the reason pilots keep asking is because they aren't being specific - in every other departure where we have a transition route ATC states 'cleared via the COLIN5 departure colin transition' or 'cleared via the COLIN5 departure; colin; blah blah blah.' a simple phrase change would prevent all the issues they are having here. That is why I filed this as soon as possible because I'm not an isolated case and something needs to be done with the phraseology of ATC's instructions whether they are doing it 'correct' by FAA standards or not. He brushed it off but you have to wonder when three aircraft (from two airlines) ask for clarification.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A commuter Captain believes Clearance Delivery at RIC is using poor phraseology when clearing fights by the COLIN5 SID.

Narrative: First Officer picked up clearance from RIC. ATC stated 'Cleared via COLIN5 V16...'. I input this into the FMS as COLIN5 departure; which ends at COLIN intersection; then V16 starting there. The First Officer mentioned they he had issues before and couldn't remember what the problem was with the routing so we verified. ATC did indeed want us flying the COLIN5 departure COLIN transition then picking up V16 there. The issue is V16 ALSO starts at RIC VOR; so you can actually input into the FMS RIC V16... This would be wrong and brings you significantly off course; and is what he and the Captain did last week; and ATC queried them for being off course. I have a feeling people are doing this because ATC doesn't specify to go to the COLIN transition; and the initial instructions on the plate are to fly a heading; so they assume they just fly the heading and then pick up V16 starting at RIC.While taxiing into RIC gate I heard TWO other aircraft query ATC as to the correct routing and verify ATC wanted them to fly the entire COLIN5 departure including MODEL and COLIN intersections; then pick up V16. I told the Controller the reason pilots keep asking is because they aren't being specific - in every other departure where we have a transition route ATC states 'cleared via the COLIN5 departure COLIN transition' or 'cleared via the COLIN5 departure; COLIN; blah blah blah.' A simple phrase change would prevent all the issues they are having here. That is why I filed this ASAP because I'm not an isolated case and something needs to be done with the phraseology of ATC's instructions whether they are doing it 'correct' by FAA standards or not. He brushed it off but you have to wonder when three aircraft (from two airlines) ask for clarification.

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.