Air carrier departing hong kong described a confused ATC SID altitude assignment; noting contradicti...

Attributes
ACN	924174
Time
Date	201012
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	VHHH.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-11
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	SID Lakes RNAV
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 130 Flight Crew Total 15500 Flight Crew Type 3500
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 82 Flight Crew Total 7700 Flight Crew Type 2658
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Altitude Overshoot Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

[We] departed vhhh on runway 7R on the lakes RNAV departure. After porpa; ATC issued a clearance to climb to 9;000 ft. With the understanding that ATC meant for us to climb to the issued altitude at that time; I began the climb to that altitude as is indicated by procedures written in the our flight operations manual and the aim which state that altitude clearances assigned without re-stating any previous restrictions including SID restrictions cancels those restrictions. The first officer suggested that ATC meant to climb to that altitude within the restrictions and limitations of the SID procedure; which would have held us down to 5;000 until the next fix. We were higher than the SID restrictions at that point so we requested confirmation of clearance to 9;000 ft was intended to be now. Radio traffic did not permit a timely response to that inquiry. The core problem is that company procedures concerning SID altitude clearances are unclear at best. Several countries operate differently from ICAO where controller issued clearances of altitude assignments do not negate previous restrictions. These differences should not exist as it leads to misunderstandings and improper assumptions where pilots may operate in several countries in the same day. This complex set of procedures needs to be corrected and standardized.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier departing Hong Kong described a confused ATC SID altitude assignment; noting contradicting directions found in several documents regarding SID altitude requirements.

Narrative: [We] departed VHHH on Runway 7R on the Lakes RNAV departure. After PORPA; ATC issued a clearance to climb to 9;000 FT. With the understanding that ATC meant for us to climb to the issued altitude at that time; I began the climb to that altitude as is indicated by procedures written in the our flight operations manual and the AIM which state that altitude clearances assigned without re-stating any previous restrictions including SID restrictions cancels those restrictions. The First Officer suggested that ATC meant to climb to that altitude within the restrictions and limitations of the SID procedure; which would have held us down to 5;000 until the next fix. We were higher than the SID restrictions at that point so we requested confirmation of clearance to 9;000 FT was intended to be now. Radio traffic did not permit a timely response to that inquiry. The core problem is that Company procedures concerning SID altitude clearances are unclear at best. Several countries operate differently from ICAO where controller issued clearances of altitude assignments do not negate previous restrictions. These differences should not exist as it leads to misunderstandings and improper assumptions where pilots may operate in several countries in the same day. This complex set of procedures needs to be corrected and standardized.

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.

Air carrier departing hong kong described a confused ATC SID altitude assignment; noting contradicting directions found in several documents regarding SID altitude requirements.