GOV SMT ENTERS TCA WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

UPON INITIAL CONTACT WITH DOWNTOWN CLRNC DELIVERY/GND CTL; THE PNF INDICATED THAT HE HAD RECEIVED THE ATIS AND WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA AND ANY UNIQUE PROCS. WE ASKED ABOUT HOW TO DEPART VFR NBOUND. WE WERE GIVEN A DEP CTL FREQ AND A SQUAWK. THE ABSENCE OF A HDG AND/OR AN ALT SEEMED STRANGE BUT WE PRESUMED THAT DEP CTL WOULD PROVIDE THAT IF IT WERE NECESSARY. ON AT LEAST 2 OCCASIONS; WE ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM GND CTL AS TO WHERE WE WERE GOING. THE ANSWERS WERE 'NBOUND' AND 'NBOUND TO SIOUX CITY'. OUR INDICATIONS WERE THAT WE WERE ALREADY IN THE TCA UPON BREAKING GND AND THAT THE SQUAWK AND FREQ CONSTITUTED OUR CLRNC. DOWNTOWN TWR CLRED US FOR TKOF. AFTER TKOF AND NEARING COMPLETION OF THE AFTER TKOF CHKLIST; TWR TOLD US TO 'SWITCH TO DEP; IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY.' UPON CHKING IN WITH DEP; THE COPLT ANNOUNCED THAT WE WERE 'CLBING TO 16500 FT' IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY ALT RESTRICTION. THERE WAS A HESITATION AND THEN THE CTLR DEMANDED THAT WE LEVEL AT 3000; REPEAT 3000 FT. THERE WAS TFC ON OUR L SIDE AT 3500 FT. WE HAD ALREADY SEEN THE TFC AND ALTHOUGH NOT ON A COLLISION COURSE; THE PROX WAS ENOUGH TO GET OUR ATTN. HAVING ALREADY PASSED 3000 FT; WE PUSHED IT BACK DOWN TO THE REQUIRED 3000 FT. WE NEVER EXCEEDED 3300 FT DURING THAT MANEUVER. WE WERE SUBSEQUENTLY CLRED TO 16500 FT AND ON OUR WAY. STILL; A SPECIFIED TCA CLRNC WAS NEVER ISSUED. AGAIN; WE WERE ASKED WHERE WE WERE GOING AND TOLD TO CONTACT THE SUPVR; WHEN WE GOT THERE. WE MADE THAT CALL WHEN WE EVENTUALLY LANDED. SUPVR'S ACCUSATION OF ENTERING THE TCA WITHOUT CLRNC WAS THE FIRST WE KNEW OF THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THEIR PROBLEM. AS FAR AS WE KNEW; WE HAD BEEN CLRED THROUGH THE TCA UPON DEP. THERE WAS NEVER ANY INDICATION FROM ATIS; GND/CLRNC; OR TWR AT THE DOWNTOWN ARPT TO AVOID THE TCA. WE THOUGHT WE WERE ALREADY IN IT. HAD ANY ADVISORY BEEN GIVEN CONCERNING THAT PROX OF THE TCA; I'M CONVINCED WE WOULD HAVE INQUIRED AND CLRED UP THE CONFUSION.