CLRNC DEV. PDC NOT RECEIVED.

Narrative

PRIOR TO DEP AT BWI; THE FO AND I DISCUSSED THE DEP ROUTING; ALT CLRED TO; THE XPONDER CODE; AND ANY SPECIAL PROCS REQUIRED. THE ACFT WAS CLRED TO TAXI; TKOF; AND CLRNC WAS GIVEN TO CHANGE TO DEP CTL. THE DEP FREQ WAS IN ERROR; AND WE WERE GIVEN ANOTHER FREQ. THE FLT CONTINUED WITH NO ABNORMAL OP. DURING THE POSTFLT DISCUSSION AT ORD; THE FO DID NOT REMEMBER IF HE HAD GOTTEN THE PDC CLRNC MESSAGE. SOME ARPTS WE OPERATE OUT OF DO NOT HAVE PDC CLRNC PROCS AND SOME DO. BWI DOES HAVE THIS CAPABILITY. THERE SHOULD BE A WAY FOR PLTS TO BE ADVISED IF THERE IS A QUESTION AS TO WHETHER THEY HAVE THE CLRNC OR NOT. SOME ARPTS DO. BWI DOES NOT; HOWEVER; I REALIZE THAT THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH THE PIC. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: FLC HAD RECEIVED THEIR DEP RELEASE AT THE GATE; BUT DID NOT RECEIVE THE PDC. SINCE THE ROUTING AND ALTS ARE VERY CONSISTENT DEPARTING THAT ARPT; THE FLC DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY HAD NOT RECEIVED THE PDC UNTIL POST FLT DISCUSSION WHEN THE FO RECALLED ALL THE ACARS MESSAGES AND THERE WAS NO PDC MESSAGE. HAD THE XPONDER SQUAWK BEEN SET TO 0000 BY THE PREVIOUS FLC; IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE ALERTED THE RPTR FLC THAT THEY HAD NOT RECEIVED THEIR CLRNC OR SQUAWK. HOWEVER; THE XPONDER WAS SET TO THE CODE OF THE PREVIOUS FLT AND BOTH PLTS OF THE RPTR CREW ASSUMED IT WAS CORRECT. IT WAS NOT UNTIL AFTER TKOF; WHEN THE DEP CTLR HAD THEM CHANGE THE SQUAWK AND FREQ; THAT THEY REALIZED SOMETHING WAS AMISS. RPTR CAPT SAYS THAT HIS PERSONAL PROC NOW IS TO ALWAYS BRIEF THE DEP FROM THE PDC ON THE ACARS SCREEN. RPTR BELIEVES A MORE INTERACTIVE PROC BTWN ATC AND THE FLCS SHOULD BE PUT INTO EFFECT THAT INSURE FLCS HAVE RECEIVED THEIR PDC. ONE METHOD WOULD BE TO REQUIRE READBACK OF XPONDER CODE AT ALL PDC ARPTS BEFORE OBTAINING TAXI CLRNC.