CE-680 flight crew reported overshooting an altitude restriction on departure from SNA while trying to avoid wake turbulence from a preceding B757.
Synopsis
CE-680 flight crew reported overshooting an altitude restriction on departure from SNA while trying to avoid wake turbulence from a preceding B757.
Narrative
Leaving SNA we were given a climb via the PIGGN 3 Runway 20R for our clearance. During our taxi for departure we were placed behind a 757 for sequence. The Captain and I talked about the possible wake turbulence and what we should do to avoid it. 757 took off and was followed by a 737; then us 2 minutes. Right after the takeoff around flap retraction altitude we hit a bit of the 757 wake. My Captain told me to pitch up to out-climb the 757 to avoid its wake. I pitched up around 12 degrees to climb as quickly as possible but in doing so we busted the at or below of 5000 at STREL. We were around 1 minute out from the fix and around 6500 feet when I noticed I climbed past it. I immediately corrected the climb and when we had switched to Departure frequency the Captain mentioned our error and our correcting actions. A major factor that caused this deviation I believe was the wake turbulence of the 757. I've been hit with wake turbulence in small GA aircraft and tossed around because of it. Once we got hit with a slight bit of wake; I wanted to climb and avoid a situation where it banked us harder than 45 degrees and being close to the ground. With the wake being lower to the ground I did not use autopilot initially. Minor factors were we had a very early show due to initially being on standby. I did not get to eat breakfast due to the early start time and we had a 1-hour ride from ZZZ to SNA. The passenger arrived early; forcing us to rush a bit to get the aircraft ready and have their bags loaded. The things we could have done better to avoid this mistake from happening are; during our dual verification; we could have reviewed the departure procedure better to emphasize the altitude restriction. After the bump from the wake I could have used the autopilot/VNAV after leveling the wings to ensure compliance with altitudes.
Second reporter narrative
We had an altitude deviation situation on a SID. We were cleared via the PIGGN3 Departure out of SNA which has a crossing restriction at STREL of at or below 5000 feet. We failed to level off at 5000 and were alerted by ATC of our error. We descended to 5000 and resumed the rest of the SID/flight without any further issue. There was no conflict with other aircraft. ATC did not have any further concerns. We performed our briefs to include route; altitude; squawk and frequencies. Somehow or another we both overlooked the restriction on the SID. This is rare for two pilots to miss this. In addition to this; I had a XA:30 wake-up time. The airport was also closed to traffic due to noise restrictions that are lifted at XE:00. We taxied out along with at least another 10 or more airliners to wait for the XE:00 time. We were sequenced behind a 757 and a great topic of our discussion involved how to avoid their wake turbulence. It was agreed that the steepest possible climb rate would be the best way to avoid any wake from departing airliners; especially the 757 ahead of us. I think we got trapped into focusing so much on wake avoidance that it actually drew our attention away from the SID limitations. We should have done a more thorough SID review and incorporated that into our wake avoidance attempts. Flying the line sometimes teaches us some humbling experiences. More prudence will be exercised going forward. I have to slow the pace down.
NASA callback
Reporter stated the slightly excessive pitch-up was related to the startle factor of the encounter.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.