Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface; Distraction
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert
Aircraft
At 400 FT; NAV was selected; aircraft track was within limits on the departure procedure. ATC questioned our position and said we were well left of course. The weather was clear and no other aircraft was in our vicinity. He then gave us a follow on clearance which negated the rest of the procedure. Our systems did not appear to be at fault. I would suggest fly the procedure using raw data instead of NAV.
The Reporter did not remember the heading but the weather VMC was not in any danger from terrain.
We had just taken off from Runway 31L in Palm Springs and were flying the Cathedral Departure. As soon as we checked in with Departure the Controller told us to fly direct to our Victor Airway NAVAID upon reaching 5;000 FT. We were in the turn when the Departure Controller asked us what the winds were. I told him about 4 KTS out of the north. He then said that several of the flights that had departed PSP; including ours; had been well left of the runway heading that the departure called to fly. I told him we were flying the GPS NAV and that we were right on the line. He then asked another aircraft ahead of us if they had flown the GPS NAV and they answered that they had. He then switched us to LA Center but before I switched over I asked him if there was an issue with course in question and he answered that he was going to check into it. We need to check the track of the magenta line and compare it with the heading on those departures that call for a heading to be flown rather than relying on the magenta line. We then should make ATC aware of the difference or go to heading select.
An air carrier aircraft departed on the PSP Cathedral One and had a track deviation to the west of the 310 degree track in the GPS nav mode. ATC commented that other aircraft had the same behavior.