Narrative:

Gander instructed us via HF radio call to climb from FL320 to cross 47 degrees west longitude (W047) at FL350. At W047 we were 1;400 feet low; only climbing through FL336. As captain; I was pm. The PF was a new fb on his first trip off of training.before entering the atlantic track (nat) hla; we received an oceanic clearance with changes to route and altitude. This created uncertainty about our route clearance after the nat hla. We spent quite a bit of time trying to get this resolved and getting a new flight plan from the dispatcher. There were several errors in the revised flight plans; which kept us busier than normal. We never did get a flight plan with the complete new route. Instead we used parts of different flight plans to satisfy course and distance verification requirements. 35 minutes prior to the altitude deviation; upon entering gander from iceland; we did an HF SELCAL check with gander. About 15 minutes after that; we started encountering continuous light chop at FL320 and made a cpdlc request with gander to climb to FL340 due to weather. The cpdlc response was 'unable due to traffic'. At about 35 more minutes after that; we responded to a SELCAL from gander. The transmission was partly unreadable; forcing me to get clarification; which took time. Gander confirmed that we were to climb to FL350 and be level by W047. We confirmed the clearance. I immediately entered W047 on legs 2 page and saw the altitude restriction was only 10 miles ahead of us. I was shocked that the restriction was so close; but thought we might be able to make it; due to an approximately 45 knot headwind. I told the relief pilot to begin his climb immediately; but we were still unable to make the tight restriction. My 10 years of experience crossing nat system worked against me. In the past; all crossing restrictions that I have been given were very generous with the distance allowed to make that restriction: 40 nm to 80 nm or more. I should not have accepted this clearance until after I determined that we had the distance to complete the climb. On gander's part; I would have greatly appreciated being given more time to comply; since I felt our actions were done in a timely manner with no undue delay. Also; if I had been asked if we were able to reach FL350 by W047; I would have responded that we were not certain. I accept responsibility for this deviation; but I feel gander did not issue an appropriate clearance and could have done a better job ensuring a safe airspace for us and any traffic that might have been in the area.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767 flight crew reported receiving a clearance to climb; via HF radio; on a westbound Atlantic track too late to comply with the crossing restriction contained in the clearance.

Narrative: Gander instructed us via HF radio call to climb from FL320 to cross 47 degrees west longitude (W047) at FL350. At W047 we were 1;400 feet low; only climbing through FL336. As captain; I was PM. The PF was a new FB on his first trip off of training.Before entering the Atlantic Track (NAT) HLA; we received an oceanic clearance with changes to route and altitude. This created uncertainty about our route clearance after the NAT HLA. We spent quite a bit of time trying to get this resolved and getting a new flight plan from the dispatcher. There were several errors in the revised flight plans; which kept us busier than normal. We never did get a flight plan with the complete new route. Instead we used parts of different flight plans to satisfy course and distance verification requirements. 35 minutes prior to the altitude deviation; upon entering Gander from Iceland; we did an HF SELCAL check with Gander. About 15 minutes after that; we started encountering continuous light chop at FL320 and made a CPDLC request with Gander to climb to FL340 due to weather. The CPDLC response was 'Unable due to traffic'. At about 35 more minutes after that; we responded to a SELCAL from Gander. The transmission was partly unreadable; forcing me to get clarification; which took time. Gander confirmed that we were to climb to FL350 and be level by W047. We confirmed the clearance. I immediately entered W047 on LEGS 2 page and saw the altitude restriction was only 10 miles ahead of us. I was shocked that the restriction was so close; but thought we might be able to make it; due to an approximately 45 knot headwind. I told the Relief Pilot to begin his climb immediately; but we were still unable to make the tight restriction. My 10 years of experience crossing NAT system worked against me. In the past; all crossing restrictions that I have been given were very generous with the distance allowed to make that restriction: 40 nm to 80 nm or more. I should not have accepted this clearance until after I determined that we had the distance to complete the climb. On Gander's part; I would have greatly appreciated being given more time to comply; since I felt our actions were done in a timely manner with no undue delay. Also; if I had been asked if we were able to reach FL350 by W047; I would have responded that we were not certain. I accept responsibility for this deviation; but I feel Gander did not issue an appropriate clearance and could have done a better job ensuring a safe airspace for us and any traffic that might have been in the area.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.