THE FLC DEVIATED FROM THE SID ALT RESTR.

Narrative

CREW WAS OPERATING THE SECOND LEG ON THE THIRD DAY OF A 4 DAY TRIP. TRIP PAIRING OVER 4 DAYS CONSISTED OF 5 LEGS; 1 WHICH WAS A DEADHEAD. ALL DUTY PERIODS EXCEPT FIRST DEADHEAD STARTED AT NIGHT OR EARLY MORNING; OPERATING SCHEDULED CARGO OPS UNDER FAR PART 121. ACFT WAS A BOEING 727-200RE; AN ADVANCED VERSION OF 727 WITH UPGRADED HIGHER THRUST ENGS AND CAT III AVIONICS. THIS LEG WAS OPERATING SJC-ORD. CREW HAD JUST COMPLETED A SHORT RE-POS FLT FROM OAK-SJC AFTER A 15 HR LAYOVER IN OAK. SO WAS ALREADY OUT AT ACFT WHEN CAPT AND FO ARRIVED AT RAMP 1/2 HR PRIOR TO DEP. GND TIME AT SJC WAS ABOUT 1 HR; AND CARGO LOADING OPS WERE PROCEEDING NORMALLY. CAPT AND FO COMPLETED PREFLT DUTIES; REVIEWED FLT PLAN; RECEIVED ATIS; GOT ENRTE CLRNC; AND FINALLY REVIEWED 'LOUPE 9' SID. CLRNC READ; 'CLRED TO ORD VIA LOUPE 9 DEP; LINDEN TRANSITION; THEN AF; MAINTAIN 5000; SQUAWK; FREQ; MAINTAIN 250 KTS.' CAPT TOOK TIME TO REVIEW ALL TURN RESTRS AND XING RESTRS ON LOUPE 9 SID OF WHICH THERE WERE SEVERAL. BOTH CAPT AND FO HAD LOUPE 9 SID PLATES IN FRONT OF THEM. AFTER CLOSING CARGO AND FRONT ENTRY DOORS; BEFORE START CHKLIST WAS COMPLETED; AND GND CREW PUSHED ACFT BACK AND ENG START WAS COMPLETED. AFTER START CHKLIST WAS COMPLETED AND CLRNC RECEIVED TO TAXI TO RWY 30L. CREW WAS NOT RUSHED AS ACFT WAS CONFIGURED AND BEFORE TKOF CHKLIST COMPLETED. CAPT TOOK TIME ON THIS LEG; AS HE HAD ON EACH PREVIOUS LEG; TO THOROUGHLY REVIEW ALL PERTINENT INFO PRIOR TO TKOF; AND HE MADE IT A POINT NOT TO RUSH. CLRNC TO TKOF RECEIVED AND INITIAL TURN COMPLETED WITHIN DME RESTRS SPECIFIED IN SID. CHANGE TO DEP CTL FREQ COMMENCED; AND BAY DEP ADVISED 'DELETE 5000 FT XING RESTR; CLB AND MAINTAIN 12000 FT. WE INQUIRED ABOUT 250 KT RESTR AND DEP ADVISED TO MAINTAIN 250 KTS AS IT WAS A CTR RESTR. SID CALLS FOR A TURN BACK TO CROSS SJC AT 12000 FT; THEN TRACK OUTBOUND ON SJC 330 DEG RADIAL. CREW SET UP NAV (VOR) FOR OUTBOUND RADIAL THEN A FREQ CHANGE TO ZOA COMMENCED. CTR CLRED US TO CROSS SJC AT 12000 FT CLB AND MAINTAIN FL230; DELETE 250 KT RESTR; RESUME LOUPE 9. BOTH CAPT AND FO THOUGHT CLRNC WAS TO CROSS SJC AT OR ABOVE 12000 FT. ACFT WAS CLBING RAPIDLY WHEN ZOA QUERIED ABOUT OUR ALT. I BELIEVE WE HAD JUST ABOUT CROSSED THE SJC VOR CLBING THROUGH 16000 FT WHEN CTR ADVISED US THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AT 12000 FT. I ASKED CTR IF HE WANTED US BACK AT 12000 FT AS CAPT RECOGNIZED XING RESTR AND BEGAN A PUSHOVER. CTR ADVISED US IT WAS TOO LATE NOW; CLB AND MAINTAIN FL230; AND ADMONISHED US THAT XING RESTR WAS CRUCIAL FOR OVERHEAD TFC HDG INTO BAY AREA. APPARENTLY NO TFC CONFLICT EXISTED. WE DISCUSSED THIS INCIDENT ON WAY TO CHICAGO; AND REAFFIRMED THAT WE BOTH THOUGHT CLRNC WAS SJC VOR AT OR ABOVE 12000 FT; CLB AND MAINTAIN FL230. WE HAD BEEN IN THE HABIT OF DIALING ANY LOWER XING RESTRS INTO ALT ALERTER UNTIL RESTRS WERE MET; THEN DIALING HIGHER ALT INTO ALERTER. THE FACT THAT I HAD DIALED FL230 INTO ALERTER DESPITE THE LOUPE 9 SID RESTR DISTRACTED US FROM REQUIREMENT TO CROSS SJC VOR AT 12000 FT. ALSO THE 'CROSS SJC VOR AT 12000 FT NOTE ON THE SID GRAPHIC DEPICTION IS ALMOST AT BOTTOM OF CHART; WHERE; HANGING ON MY YOKE CLIP; IT WAS DIFFICULT TO SEE. CREW DISCUSSED HOW TO AVOID MISSING SID RESTRS; AND AGREED WE CAN MORE THOROUGHLY REVIEW SID AND ALL APPLICABLE NOTES; AND VERIFY WITH ATC. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR ACN #306843 REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: WHEN ASKED BY THE ANALYST WHAT COULD BE DONE TO MAKE THIS DEP MORE RELIABLE THE RPTR SUGGESTED THE LOUPE 9 DEP WOULD BE MORE WORKABLE IF THE FLC WERE EITHER ALLOWED TO FLY THE DEP AS PUBLISHED OR GIVEN EACH PROGRESSIVE HDG AND ALT AS REQUIRED DURING THE STEP CLB. ANOTHER SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO HAVE THE AIRSPACE DESIGN SUCH THAT A SINGLE FREQ AND CTLR RATHER THAN THE MULTIPLE FREQS AND CTLRS. EACH CTLR IS CHANGING THE ALTS; AND/OR HDGS; AND OR AIRSPD RESTR. PERHAPS THE CTLR WANTS ALL RESTRS TO REMAIN IN EFFECT SUBSEQUENT TO VECTORS UNLESS SPECIFICALLY DELETED. THE PROCS IN THE MINDS OF SOME PLTS ARE AFTER VECTORS ALL RESTRARE DELETED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REPEATED. TO ELIMINATE CONFUSION IF THE ALTS ARE REALLY CRUCIAL STEP CLB THE PLT EACH ALT AND CLR THE PLT TO CLB ONLY WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. TO CROSS SJC AT 12000 FT VERBAL ASSIGNMENT COMBINED WITH THE PUBLISHED ASSIGNMENT 8 MI LATER ALONG THE TRACK OR 1 MIN MORE ALONG THE TRACK TO BE MORE THAN 2000 FT HIGHER WAS UPPER MOST IN MY MIND AND MADE ME FORGET THAT I NEEDED TO BE AT 12000 FT UNTIL XING THE VOR. PERHAPS THE CROSS THE VOR AT 12000 FT AND CLB TO FL230 AND RESUME THE LOUPE 9 DEP AND RESUME NORMAL SPD MEANT I DID NOT HAVE TO MAKE THE ABOVE 14000 FT 8 MI N OF THE VOR AND THE RESTR NO LONGER EXISTED. AT ANY RATE AFTER HAVING BEEN ASSIGNED 12000 FT AND THE ALT ALERTER BEING SET AT 12000 FT WE WERE TOLD TO CLB AND MAINTAIN FL230 AND RESUME THE LOUPE 9 DEP AND RESUME NORMAL SPD MEANT THE 12000 FT RESTR NO LONGER EXISTED. TO US THIS MEANT AN ALT CHANGE WHICH MEANT MOVING THE ALT ALERTER TO FL230 WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL XING THE VOR.