MD88 FLT CREW ON NOVSS RNAV SID FROM ATL FAILS TO PROGRAM THE SARGE TRANSITION WHICH WAS PART OF THEIR CLRNC. TRACK DEV RESULTS.

Narrative

FLT PLAN ROUTING WAS ATL NOVSS DEP; SARGE TRANSITION; RRS; PENSI; PNS. PREFLT; TAXI; TKOF DEP; AND CLB TO CRUISE ALT OF FL260 WERE NORMAL. AFTER PASSING NOVSS INTXN; ZTL CTLR ASKED US WHERE WE WERE GOING. FEARING WE HAD MISSED A CHANGE IN OUR ROUTING; WE CHKED THE ACARS PDC AGAINST THE FLT PLAN ROUTING; BUT IT MATCHED THE FLT PLAN. WE REPLIED THAT WE WERE ON THE NOVSS DEP; AND GOING TO RRS. ATC SAID THAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE SARGE TRANSITION; AND THAT WE WERE N OF COURSE. WE CHKED THE FMS; AND SARGE WAS NOT IN THE FMS; SO WE ENTERED IT; AND TOLD ATC THAT WE WOULD TURN DIRECT SARGE. ATC SAID DISREGARD THE TURN; JUST PROCEED DIRECT PENSI INTXN. WE VERIFIED WITH ATC THE COURSE AND DISTANCE TO PENSI; AND PROCEEDED DIRECT. THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL. AFTER REVIEWING THE FLT PLAN AND FMS; I BELIEVE THAT THE FMS WAS LOADED WITH THE NOVSS DEP; AND THE 2L BUTTON FOR THE SARGE TRANSITION WAS PUSHED; BUT THE TRANSITION BUTTON WAS EITHER NOT PUSHED HARD ENOUGH OR LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO BE ENTERED INTO THE FMS DURING THE PREFLT LOADING; AND IT WAS MISSED DURING THE CHK OF THE RTE. THERE WERE NO DISCONTINUITIES AND THE ROUTING APPEARED CORRECT. OF COURSE IN RETROSPECT; I THINK WE SAW WHAT WE EXPECTED TO SEE; RATHER THAN WHAT WAS ACTUALLY THERE; AND MISSED THE FACT THAT SARGE INTXN WASN'T IN THE FMS RTE.