Narrative:

After takeoff we climbed our aircraft to an altitude of 10;000 ft instead of the ATC assigned 8;000 ft. Also; due to an error of not setting the local altimeter setting prior to takeoff; a subsequent climb to 12;000 ft was also not to the correct altitude. The result was 3 altitude busts; one passing through 8;000 for 10;000 ft; one at leveling 10;000 ft; and one leveling at 12;000 ft. The airplane was in a hangar where it had been kept overnight. Due to light snow falling; the PIC and I agreed that we could do part of the aircraft preparation inside the hangar; load passengers; have the lineman tow the aircraft to the de-ice pad; de-ice; start engines; then complete the aircraft preparation. We would then taxi out for takeoff. This minimized the time the aircraft spent on battery power (no gpu available).while in the hangar; the PIC copied the ATIS and the ATC clearance and wrote them down. Our clearance was the PIKES4.publication then as filed; climb to 8;000 ft. The PIC is a very experienced pilot; but for some reason this morning he forgot some basic but important parts of the setup and made some uncommon errors. These include putting the wrong runway into the FMS; setting the altitude sel to 10;000 ft instead of the 8;000 ft assigned by ATC and not setting the altimeter to the current altimeter setting. While the PIC was performing the cockpit setup and completing the before starting checks; I; the sic; conducted the exterior preflight; prepared the cabin; and loaded bags. We then loaded passengers. While we waited to be towed to the de-ice pad; the PIC briefed me on the departure saying we were cleared the PIKES4.publication to 10;000 ft; then as filed. After being towed to the de-ice pad and while being sprayed we turned batteries on; initialized the FMS; and performed starting engines checks. I asked the PIC if he wanted to go over the before starting checklist again due to the non-standard nature of our preparation and he replied it was not necessary and that he felt comfortable that everything was done.we completed the before taxi checks and then called for taxi clearance. As we taxied out; we completed our taxi checks and called tower for takeoff clearance. During our initial climb; when switched to the denver controller; he immediately asked us what altitude we were cleared to. This was our first indication something was wrong. These were the errors made by the PIC: 1) he set the wrong runway in the FMS. This was corrected prior to takeoff. 2) he copied down the clearance to climb to 8;000 ft; but then set the altitude sel to 10;000 ft and briefed the sic that the climb would be to 10;000 ft. When asked later where the 10;000 ft came from his answer was from the departure procedure (dp). Later review of the dp showed that 10;000 ft only applied to aircraft taking off from denver international; not centennial. 3) he also failed to set the current altimeter setting into the altimeters. The day before had been a beautiful warm day and the day of the incident it was cold and snowing. A large drop had occurred in barometric pressure since landing the morning before. These were errors made by the sic: 1) I accepted a verbal briefing from the PIC; but did not look at the written clearance. It is not in our SOP to look at the written clearance; but I think that should change. 2) I did not notice while I did the instrument check that our altimeters and the field elevation did not match. Usually while doing this check we are comparing left and right indications for a match. The PIC should have already done the altimeter to field elevation match during the before starting checks.how to prevent a recurrence: this takeoff took place at a high altitude airport under challenging weather conditions. Also adding to the complexity was the desire to keep the airplane in the hangar out of the weather as long as possible to allow comfortable loading of passengers; reduced amount of de-icing; and to get airborne before expiration of holdover time. Inthe future; the following should help avoid recurrence: the PIC should brief the sic of the takeoff using the written clearance so that there is less chance of confusion. When the sic performs the instrument scan prior to taxi; he should also verify that the altimeter matches field elevation within +/- 75 ft. When a tower issues a takeoff clearance to a climb that is underneath the airspace of a major airport; a climb to altitude should be a part of that clearance. Non-standard procedures should be avoided if at all possible; they open the door to mistakes. If non-standard procedures are used then both pilots should be involved in every step and the checklist should be double checked to confirm everything is done correctly. In my company; it is SOP that cockpit setup is done by one pilot while the other pilot is taking care of exterior preflight; checking weather; fueling; passenger needs; etc. We emphasize that cockpit setup is to be done very carefully; but that obviously is not good enough. In the end; a thorough review of the written clearance during the takeoff briefing and a better instrument check would have saved the day.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Lear 31A First Officer reported he and the Captain made a number of procedural errors during cockpit setup that led to altitude deviations in climb. He recommended some changes to prevent such problems in the future.

Narrative: After takeoff we climbed our aircraft to an altitude of 10;000 FT instead of the ATC assigned 8;000 FT. Also; due to an error of not setting the local altimeter setting prior to takeoff; a subsequent climb to 12;000 FT was also not to the correct altitude. The result was 3 altitude busts; one passing through 8;000 for 10;000 FT; one at leveling 10;000 FT; and one leveling at 12;000 FT. The airplane was in a hangar where it had been kept overnight. Due to light snow falling; the PIC and I agreed that we could do part of the aircraft preparation inside the hangar; load passengers; have the lineman tow the aircraft to the de-ice pad; de-ice; start engines; then complete the aircraft preparation. We would then taxi out for takeoff. This minimized the time the aircraft spent on battery power (no GPU available).While in the hangar; the PIC copied the ATIS and the ATC clearance and wrote them down. Our clearance was the PIKES4.PUB then as filed; climb to 8;000 FT. The PIC is a very experienced pilot; but for some reason this morning he forgot some basic but important parts of the setup and made some uncommon errors. These include putting the wrong runway into the FMS; setting the ALT SEL to 10;000 FT instead of the 8;000 FT assigned by ATC and not setting the altimeter to the current altimeter setting. While the PIC was performing the cockpit setup and completing the before starting checks; I; the SIC; conducted the exterior preflight; prepared the cabin; and loaded bags. We then loaded passengers. While we waited to be towed to the de-ice pad; the PIC briefed me on the departure saying we were cleared the PIKES4.PUB to 10;000 FT; then as filed. After being towed to the de-ice pad and while being sprayed we turned batteries on; initialized the FMS; and performed starting engines checks. I asked the PIC if he wanted to go over the Before Starting checklist again due to the non-standard nature of our preparation and he replied it was not necessary and that he felt comfortable that everything was done.We completed the before taxi checks and then called for taxi clearance. As we taxied out; we completed our taxi checks and called Tower for takeoff clearance. During our initial climb; when switched to the Denver Controller; he immediately asked us what altitude we were cleared to. This was our first indication something was wrong. These were the errors made by the PIC: 1) He set the wrong runway in the FMS. This was corrected prior to takeoff. 2) He copied down the clearance to climb to 8;000 FT; but then set the ALT SEL to 10;000 FT and briefed the SIC that the climb would be to 10;000 FT. When asked later where the 10;000 FT came from his answer was from the Departure Procedure (DP). Later review of the DP showed that 10;000 FT only applied to aircraft taking off from Denver International; not Centennial. 3) He also failed to set the current altimeter setting into the altimeters. The day before had been a beautiful warm day and the day of the incident it was cold and snowing. A large drop had occurred in barometric pressure since landing the morning before. These were errors made by the SIC: 1) I accepted a verbal briefing from the PIC; but did not look at the written clearance. It is not in our SOP to look at the written clearance; but I think that should change. 2) I did not notice while I did the instrument check that our altimeters and the field elevation did not match. Usually while doing this check we are comparing left and right indications for a match. The PIC should have already done the altimeter to field elevation match during the before starting checks.How to prevent a recurrence: This takeoff took place at a high altitude airport under challenging weather conditions. Also adding to the complexity was the desire to keep the airplane in the hangar out of the weather as long as possible to allow comfortable loading of passengers; reduced amount of de-icing; and to get airborne before expiration of holdover time. Inthe future; the following should help avoid recurrence: The PIC should brief the SIC of the takeoff using the written clearance so that there is less chance of confusion. When the SIC performs the instrument scan prior to taxi; he should also verify that the altimeter matches field elevation within +/- 75 FT. When a Tower issues a takeoff clearance to a climb that is underneath the airspace of a major airport; a climb to altitude should be a part of that clearance. Non-standard procedures should be avoided if at all possible; they open the door to mistakes. If non-standard procedures are used then both pilots should be involved in every step and the checklist should be double checked to confirm everything is done correctly. In my company; it is SOP that cockpit setup is done by one pilot while the other pilot is taking care of exterior preflight; checking weather; fueling; passenger needs; etc. We emphasize that cockpit setup is to be done very carefully; but that obviously is not good enough. In the end; a thorough review of the written clearance during the takeoff briefing and a better instrument check would have saved the day.

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.