FLT CREW OF MD11 OVERSHOOT ALT ON DEP FROM STN ON LYDD DEP. EXCEEDENCE CAUSED IN PART BY LATE RESETTING OF ALTIMETER TO QNE VICE QNH.

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DEP OUT OF STN; LYDD RWY 5R TKOF RWY 23; ALTIMETER 983 MB. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TKOF WE WERE GIVEN VECTORS AND ASSIGNED ALTS THAT ROUGHLY FOLLOWED THE DEP PROC TRACK. WE WERE STEP CLBED 4000 FT TO 6000 FT TO FL080 AND GIVEN 'HIGH SPD DEP' APPROVED. WHILE CLBING FROM 6000 FT TO FL080 THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT COMS TAKING PLACE BTWN ATC AND OTHER TFC WHICH WE WERE PAYING ATTN TO; TO MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. WE DECIDED NOT TO USE 'HIGH SPD DEP' SPDS DUE TO CONGESTION. AS WE APCHED FL080; THERE WERE REPEATED BROKEN XMISSIONS ON GUARD ONE BEING TO US TO; 'DSND FL080; CHK ALTIMETER SETTING 1013.' CONCURRENTLY THE CREW RECOGNIZED STANDARD ALTIMETER WAS NOT SET. WE SET 1013 AND INITIATED DSCNT; ACTUAL DEV 8400 FT. TRANSITION ALT FOR THIS AREA IS 6000 FT. WITH THE LOW ALTIMETER SETTING AT 983 MB; AT 6000 FT YOU ARE ALREADY AT APPROX FL070. THUS; ONCE WE WERE CLRED TO FL080 WE ONLY HAD 1000 FT TO SET 1013; FLY ACFT; RESPOND TO ATC COM AND VERIFY ASSIGNED ALT. OUR ACFT THAT DAY HAD A LOW GROSS WT AND INCREASED PERFORMANCE; APPROX 4000 FT TO 5000 FT CLB RATE AVAILABLE AT 6000 FT; THUS GIVING LIMITED TIME TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY PRIOR TO FL080. FACTORS THAT I FEEL CONTRIBUTED TO THIS DEV INCLUDE: LOW ALTIMETER SETTING. LOW TRANSITION ALT. INCREASED WORKLOAD FROM ATC WITH VECTORS AND STEP CLB. ATC CTLR IN TRAINING. INTENSIVE COM ENVIRONMENT. FATIGUE; CREW HAD JUST MADE OCEAN XING EWR-STN HEADED TO CDG. HOW TO IMPROVE/REDUCE CHANCES OF SAME OCCURRENCE: ALLOW ACFT TO FLY ASSIGNED DEP PROC. DO NOT LEVEL ACFT AT 6000 FT WHEN TRANSITION ALT IS 6000 FT. IF 6000 FT IS ASSIGNED; DO NOT GIVE ACFT CLRNC TO AN ALT THAT GIVES VERY LIMITED TIME TO ADHERE TO PROPER ALTIMETER PROCS. DO NOT INCREASE WORKLOAD FOR AIRCREW IN AN ALREADY HIGH WORKLOAD ENVIRONMENT; IE; WX; HEADINGS; STEP CLBS; TFC AVOIDANCE ALL BELOW 10000 FT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 598503: CURIOUS ABOUT THE 6000 FT CLRNC; (SINCE THE TRANSITION ALT IS 6000 FT); I READ BACK WITH EMPHASIS; '6000 FT.' BEFORE COM COULD BE ESTABLISHED; ATC CLRED US TO 'FL080; CLRED FOR HIGH SPD CLB.' AT THIS POINT I NOTICED '1013' HAD NOT BEEN SET AND STATED SO TO THE FO WHO WAS CORRECTING OUR FLT PATH TO RETURN TO FL080. AFTER SPEAKING WITH THE SHIFT SUPVR AT LONDON CTL; HE CONFIRMED THAT XMISSIONS WERE BLOCKED. THERE WAS NO LOSS OF SEPARATION WITH OTHER ACFT OR SAFETY ISSUE IN THIS REGARD. OUR TCASII SHOWED THE SAME. THERE WERE NO ALERTS. HE ALSO STATED THAT OUR CTLR WAS A TRAINEE. WE WERE IMC; IN ICING CONDITIONS.