An air carrier B727 crew turned the wrong way after departure from ont.

Attributes
ACN	337221
Time
Date	199606
Day	Sun
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : pdz airport : ont
State Reference	CA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 1200 msl bound upper : 1200
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : ont
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude cruise other
Route In Use	departure other departure sid : sid
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : second officer
Qualification	pilot : flight engineer pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 210 flight time total : 2500 flight time type : 600
ASRS Report	337221
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : published procedure non adherence : clearance non adherence : far other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	atc equipment other atc equipment : unspecified other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted other
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Crew briefed departure SID before takeoff in accordance with SOP. We briefed left turn to pdz. After takeoff, PF started a right turn to pdz. PNF said 'aren't we supposed to turn left?' the pilots looked at SID again. The captain said, 'we just need to continue right turn to pdz -- because if we started back to the left, we would be heading towards the mountains.' it was VFR and we saw no terrain clearance problems. This seemed the safest course of action. Soon after, socal departure said he had an 'altitude alert' and asked how we ended up in a right turn. The PF admitted he made an error. We thought the safest course of action was to continue the right turn. Our company doesn't provide flight engineer's with copies of sids/stars. During the initial confusion on the right turn, I had nothing to look at and verify it was a left turn except my memory of departure brief, 10-15 mins before departure. I think all crew members should have copies of all charts, sids, stars in order to be a more effective backup.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN ACR B727 CREW TURNED THE WRONG WAY AFTER DEP FROM ONT.

Narrative: CREW BRIEFED DEP SID BEFORE TKOF IN ACCORDANCE WITH SOP. WE BRIEFED L TURN TO PDZ. AFTER TKOF, PF STARTED A R TURN TO PDZ. PNF SAID 'AREN'T WE SUPPOSED TO TURN L?' THE PLTS LOOKED AT SID AGAIN. THE CAPT SAID, 'WE JUST NEED TO CONTINUE R TURN TO PDZ -- BECAUSE IF WE STARTED BACK TO THE L, WE WOULD BE HDG TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS.' IT WAS VFR AND WE SAW NO TERRAIN CLRNC PROBS. THIS SEEMED THE SAFEST COURSE OF ACTION. SOON AFTER, SOCAL DEP SAID HE HAD AN 'ALT ALERT' AND ASKED HOW WE ENDED UP IN A R TURN. THE PF ADMITTED HE MADE AN ERROR. WE THOUGHT THE SAFEST COURSE OF ACTION WAS TO CONTINUE THE R TURN. OUR COMPANY DOESN'T PROVIDE FE'S WITH COPIES OF SIDS/STARS. DURING THE INITIAL CONFUSION ON THE R TURN, I HAD NOTHING TO LOOK AT AND VERIFY IT WAS A L TURN EXCEPT MY MEMORY OF DEP BRIEF, 10-15 MINS BEFORE DEP. I THINK ALL CREW MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE COPIES OF ALL CHARTS, SIDS, STARS IN ORDER TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE BACKUP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.