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Air carrier pilot reported being confused by the 'climb via SID' phraseology used by ATC when departing bwi.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1511378 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201801 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | PCT.TRACON |
| State Reference | VA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types |
Narrative:
ATC practice of issuing 'climb via the sid' on initial contact after departure has been vague and confusing every time I've transited bwi for last 3 years. Pre departure clearance/cpdlc clearance usually clears us via an RNAV SID except to maintain an interim altitude. After departure and on initial contact with ATC; ATC usually comes back with a 'climb via the SID' clearance with no top of climb altitude issued which usually results in an additional radio call verifying top of climb altitude. On this RNAV SID there is a different top of climb altitude depending which fix you were cleared to which could easily result in leveling off at the wrong altitude if you picked the wrong fix in the heat of battle.if ATC would simply say 'climb via the SID and maintain xxxxxx'; xxxx being the top of climb; would remove the vagueness and confusion their practice creates. When I'm with a first officer who hasn't transited bwi often; they are also confused when ATC issues the 'climb via the SID' clearance. I also hear others on the ATC frequency query them on their clearance after the 'climb via the SID' clearance. Bwi is the only airport that I've run into this issue.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air carrier pilot reported being confused by the 'Climb via SID' phraseology used by ATC when departing BWI.
Narrative: ATC practice of issuing 'climb via the Sid' on initial contact after departure has been vague and confusing every time I've transited BWI for last 3 years. PDC/CPDLC clearance usually clears us via an RNAV SID except to maintain an interim altitude. After departure and on initial contact with ATC; ATC usually comes back with a 'Climb via the SID' clearance with no top of climb altitude issued which usually results in an additional radio call verifying top of climb altitude. On this RNAV SID there is a different top of climb altitude depending which fix you were cleared to which could easily result in leveling off at the wrong altitude if you picked the wrong fix in the heat of battle.If ATC would simply say 'Climb via the SID and maintain xxxxxx'; xxxx being the top of climb; would remove the vagueness and confusion their practice creates. When I'm with a First Officer who hasn't transited BWI often; they are also confused when ATC issues the 'Climb via the SID' clearance. I also hear others on the ATC frequency query them on their clearance after the 'Climb via the SID' clearance. BWI is the only airport that I've run into this issue.
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.