A B737 ng departed on the reno 4 with an unrestricted climb clearance to FL190 with traffic 12 O'clo...

Narrative:

On the reno 5 departure from runway 16R; the event began approximately 9;000 ft MSL after check-in with norcal departure. Our clearance was an unrestricted climb to FL190. Our rate of climb was over 4;000 FPM. The weather was reported broken; which was accurate for the whole environment; but ahead of us it was overcast at about 11;000 ft. Departure called out traffic to us at approximately 12 o'clock and 10 miles. TCAS showed a target there with an altitude variation from our altitude of +37 (3;700 ft above our altitude of 9;000 ft). I replied that we were unable the visual due to a ceiling; but that we did have the terrain to the east in sight for a turn on course. There was no response to that radio call and the controller immediately was busy talking to another aircraft. As the captain flew the aircraft; I monitored the TCAS. The target was tracking toward us at 12 o'clock; we couldn't actually determine the aircraft's heading. I started to talk about the traffic to the captain. He very quickly disengaged the autothrottles and selected a shallow climb in vertical speed (approximately 500-700 FPM). At the same time; we got a TCAS TA. After three to five seconds; radio traffic allowed me to query the controller; 'confirm aircraft X is still cleared to FL190.' he said 'who?' I repeated the call; this time saying; 'confirm aircraft X is still cleared to FL190 with the traffic at our 12 o'clock.' he then gave us a 090 vector. By that point; however; we had already merged with the TCAS target and had stayed below it (and avoided the RA) by stopping our climb of our own accord. I believe that without the TCAS and our own intervention; a loss of separation or mid-air collision would have occurred. Instead of just telling us about the traffic; I thought maybe the controller should first give us an amended climb to 11;000 ft then tell us about the traffic.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 NG departed on the RENO 4 with an unrestricted climb clearance to FL190 with traffic 12 O'clock and 10 miles. The crew took evasive action after ATC failed to provide avoidance vectors in an appropriate manner.

Narrative: On the RENO 5 Departure from Runway 16R; the event began approximately 9;000 FT MSL after check-in with NorCal Departure. Our clearance was an unrestricted climb to FL190. Our rate of climb was over 4;000 FPM. The weather was reported broken; which was accurate for the whole environment; but ahead of us it was overcast at about 11;000 FT. Departure called out traffic to us at approximately 12 o'clock and 10 miles. TCAS showed a target there with an altitude variation from our altitude of +37 (3;700 FT above our altitude of 9;000 FT). I replied that we were unable the visual due to a ceiling; but that we did have the terrain to the east in sight for a turn on course. There was no response to that radio call and the Controller immediately was busy talking to another aircraft. As the Captain flew the aircraft; I monitored the TCAS. The target was tracking toward us at 12 o'clock; we couldn't actually determine the aircraft's heading. I started to talk about the traffic to the Captain. He very quickly disengaged the autothrottles and selected a shallow climb in Vertical Speed (approximately 500-700 FPM). At the same time; we got a TCAS TA. After three to five seconds; radio traffic allowed me to query the Controller; 'Confirm Aircraft X is still cleared to FL190.' He said 'Who?' I repeated the call; this time saying; 'Confirm Aircraft X is still cleared to FL190 with the traffic at our 12 o'clock.' He then gave us a 090 vector. By that point; however; we had already merged with the TCAS target and had stayed below it (and avoided the RA) by stopping our climb of our own accord. I believe that without the TCAS and our own intervention; a loss of separation or mid-air collision would have occurred. Instead of just telling us about the traffic; I thought maybe the Controller should first give us an amended climb to 11;000 FT then tell us about the traffic.

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.

Attributes
ACN	951337
Time
Date	201105
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	RNO.TRACON
State Reference	NV
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Next Generation Undifferentiated
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	SID RENO 5
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 216 Flight Crew Type 3000
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 218 Flight Crew Type 18000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A B737 ng departed on the reno 4 with an unrestricted climb clearance to FL190 with traffic 12 O'clock and 10 miles. The crew took evasive action after ATC failed to provide avoidance vectors in an appropriate manner.