Narrative:

The pre departure clearance clearance assigned us the sebby five departure (SEBBY5.dag). In reviewing the SID we were confused by the altitude restrictions presented. There were three fixes at which two restrictions were displayed in the following format- (over sli) 'at or above 10;000 (ATC)' and 'at or above 4;900'. There were no notes on the SID page explaining which restriction applies. We checked the legend pages for an explanation and this SID altitude information box was not displayed. We called the clearance controller to clarify and he didn't know. He had to ask someone else. When he came back he said it was the lower restriction unless ATC assigns the higher one. The FMC database displays the higher restriction. Additional confusing factors- the SID begins with an assigned heading after takeoff with no information about how long the flight will be on that heading. That makes it difficult to determine if the aircraft performance will be adequate to make the assigned restrictions. Note 1 on the top of the SID page states- 'this SID to be used only if unable to use loop departure.' we were never asked about the loop departure. The sebby five was just assigned. A short explanation on the SID and in the legend pages would be helpful.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 flight crew was confused by the presence of multiple crossing restrictions at the same fix on the SEBBY SID from LAX.

Narrative: The PDC clearance assigned us the SEBBY FIVE DEPARTURE (SEBBY5.DAG). In reviewing the SID we were confused by the altitude restrictions presented. There were three fixes at which two restrictions were displayed in the following format- (Over SLI) 'At or above 10;000 (ATC)' and 'At or above 4;900'. There were no notes on the SID page explaining which restriction applies. We checked the legend pages for an explanation and this SID Altitude Information Box was not displayed. We called the Clearance Controller to clarify and he didn't know. He had to ask someone else. When he came back he said it was the lower restriction unless ATC assigns the higher one. The FMC database displays the higher restriction. Additional confusing factors- the SID begins with an assigned heading after takeoff with no information about how long the flight will be on that heading. That makes it difficult to determine if the aircraft performance will be adequate to make the assigned restrictions. Note 1 on the top of the SID page states- 'This SID to be used only if unable to use LOOP Departure.' We were never asked about the LOOP Departure. The SEBBY FIVE was just assigned. A short explanation on the SID and in the legend pages would be helpful.

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.