Narrative:

We were level at FL350; assigned speed mach .79; on course to slt and talking to cleveland center. Center asked us if we were ready to copy holding instructions. First officer replied affirmative. After a brief pause; center asked again if we were ready to copy holding instructions. Again the first officer replied affirmative. Center then gave us; climb and maintain FL360; and hold west of slt; as published; 20 NM legs. First officer read back the holding instructions; after which center replied that he needed an immediate climb to FL360. First officer replied roger; leaving FL350 for FL360. When we reached FL360; we looked at our electronic flight bag (efb) to find the published holding pattern information. We first consulted the FQM2 arrival chart and did not see any holding instructions for slt listed. We then consulted the high altitude chart. We adjusted the magnification to 5/5 and saw that there was a holding pattern depicted at slt. Interestingly though; the holding pattern was oriented in a northeast/southwest direction vice on the inbound course of J584 which was 107 degrees. Since we were rapidly approaching slt; I turned my attention to the mcdu and the active flight plan. I did a lateral revision off slt and selected hold on the next page. To the best of my knowledge; what came up was a data base hold with a default inbound course of 045 degrees; right hand turns; and 1 minute legs. This seemed to be collaborated by the northeast/southwest orientation of the holding pattern depicted on the high altitude chart on our efb. So; since we were rapidly approaching slt; I inserted the holding pattern into the active flight plan. The center controller was very busy talking to other flights (multiple flights entering holding and traffic backing up en route to the new york area) and we could not get a word in to confirm the inbound course and turn direction with him. We entered holding by starting our right hand turn. After approximately 180 degrees of turn; center asked us if we were in a right hand turn. First officer replied affirmative. Center replied that we were doing the same thing as a previous flight and that we were supposed to turn left. He went on to instruct us to continue our right turn direct to slt and then re-enter the holding with left turns. As we continued our turn direct to slt; center gave us; 'this will be vectors for ewr;' and proceeded to give us radar vectors. When there was time; I told the center controller that we were flying the holding pattern that was in our FMS data base and that it appeared to be the one that was published on the high altitude chart. That was all that was said.about 1 hour after landing; I received a telephone call from my company telling me that cleveland center had called inquiring about the incident and that he was passing the incident on to his quality assurance folks. I told our company representative what had happened from my perspective. I believe that the main contributing factor to this incident was the late notification of holding instructions by the center controller. Had he given us the instructions earlier; we could have looked more closely at our efb to determine what the published holding instructions were. And; had we still had a question; we could have queried the controller on his instructions. While researching the event today on the ground; I looked at the paper high altitude chart na 9H-south; and the holding pattern is shown clearly indicating a 107 degree course inbound with left hand turns. But; this is not the way it is depicted on the high altitude chart on our efb. You must select attribute look up by tapping the screen over the waypoint (slt) in order to get the holding instructions. If you tap the screen in a slightly different place then right over the waypoint then the holding instructions don't come up. It is very touchy and your tap must be very precise; then the screen can also be out of alignment which makes it even more difficult to pullup amplifying information. In my opinion; we shouldn't have to work so hard to get holding information. It should be depicted right there on the high altitude chart. Anyway; if we had more time; we could have queried the center controller about the holding instructions. A second contributor was that when I pulled up the hold in the FMS it is possible that; although I recall seeing data base hold; it was actually a standard holding pattern which is right hand turns. However; if that was the case; the inbound course should have been the cleared inbound course to slt which would have been 107 degrees. I can't understand why the default inbound course would have been 045 degrees unless it was a data base holding pattern.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier flight crew inbound to SLT on J584 is given instructions to hold west as published. The holding pattern in both the EFB and the MCDU indicate an inbound course of 045 degrees; right hand turns; and 1 minute legs. Once the hold is entered ATC indicates that the turn should have been to the left.

Narrative: We were level at FL350; assigned speed mach .79; on course to SLT and talking to Cleveland Center. Center asked us if we were ready to copy holding instructions. First Officer replied affirmative. After a brief pause; Center asked again if we were ready to copy holding instructions. Again the First Officer replied affirmative. Center then gave us; climb and maintain FL360; and hold west of SLT; as published; 20 NM legs. First Officer read back the holding instructions; after which Center replied that he needed an immediate climb to FL360. First Officer replied roger; leaving FL350 for FL360. When we reached FL360; we looked at our Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) to find the published holding pattern information. We first consulted the FQM2 arrival chart and did not see any holding instructions for SLT listed. We then consulted the High Altitude chart. We adjusted the magnification to 5/5 and saw that there was a holding pattern depicted at SLT. Interestingly though; the holding pattern was oriented in a northeast/southwest direction vice on the inbound course of J584 which was 107 degrees. Since we were rapidly approaching SLT; I turned my attention to the MCDU and the active flight plan. I did a lateral revision off SLT and selected Hold on the next page. To the best of my knowledge; what came up was a data base hold with a default inbound course of 045 degrees; right hand turns; and 1 minute legs. This seemed to be collaborated by the northeast/southwest orientation of the holding pattern depicted on the High Altitude chart on our EFB. So; since we were rapidly approaching SLT; I inserted the holding pattern into the active flight plan. The Center Controller was very busy talking to other flights (multiple flights entering holding and traffic backing up en route to the New York area) and we could not get a word in to confirm the inbound course and turn direction with him. We entered holding by starting our right hand turn. After approximately 180 degrees of turn; Center asked us if we were in a right hand turn. First Officer replied affirmative. Center replied that we were doing the same thing as a previous flight and that we were supposed to turn left. He went on to instruct us to continue our right turn direct to SLT and then re-enter the holding with left turns. As we continued our turn direct to SLT; Center gave us; 'This will be vectors for EWR;' and proceeded to give us radar vectors. When there was time; I told the Center Controller that we were flying the holding pattern that was in our FMS data base and that it appeared to be the one that was published on the high altitude chart. That was all that was said.About 1 hour after landing; I received a telephone call from my company telling me that Cleveland Center had called inquiring about the incident and that he was passing the incident on to his Quality Assurance folks. I told our company representative what had happened from my perspective. I believe that the main contributing factor to this incident was the late notification of holding instructions by the Center Controller. Had he given us the instructions earlier; we could have looked more closely at our EFB to determine what the published holding instructions were. And; had we still had a question; we could have queried the Controller on his instructions. While researching the event today on the ground; I looked at the paper high altitude chart NA 9H-S; and the holding pattern is shown clearly indicating a 107 degree course inbound with left hand turns. But; this is not the way it is depicted on the high altitude chart on our EFB. You must select attribute look up by tapping the screen over the waypoint (SLT) in order to get the holding instructions. If you tap the screen in a slightly different place then right over the waypoint then the holding instructions don't come up. It is VERY touchy and your tap must be very precise; then the screen can also be out of alignment which makes it even more difficult to pullup amplifying information. In my opinion; we shouldn't have to work so hard to get holding information. It should be depicted right there on the high altitude chart. Anyway; if we had more time; we could have queried the Center Controller about the holding instructions. A second contributor was that when I pulled up the hold in the FMS it is possible that; although I recall seeing data base hold; it was actually a standard holding pattern which is right hand turns. However; if that was the case; the inbound course should have been the cleared inbound course to SLT which would have been 107 degrees. I can't understand why the default inbound course would have been 045 degrees unless it was a data base holding pattern.

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.