Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 173
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Training / Qualification; Troubleshooting
Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew FLC complied w / Automation / Advisory; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Chart Or Publication; Human Factors; Procedure
We were operating flight from LAX. Our filed flight plan had us on the VENTURA 5 Departure; San Marcos transition. I programmed the FMC before departure. I also got the ATIS and PDC. We pushed back from the gate and taxied to Runway 24L. No one mentioned anything to us about any changes to our route of flight or our departure clearance. We were on the VENTURA 5 Departure; which is an initial heading of 250 and expect vectors to VENTURA. As we were on the 250 heading; ATC asked us if we were turning to a waypoint on the departure. I don't remember which waypoint ATC asked us about. We then told them that we were on the VENTURA 5 Departure. ATC told us to make a right turn to a heading of 340 to avoid some military airspace that was in use and that ATC showed us on the FIXIT 2 Departure. We made the turn and were told by ATC that we never penetrated the airspace; but that we just got a little close to it. I pulled up the PDC and we both looked at it again to see if we missed a change in our routing. We both saw the VENTURA 5 Departure just as it was on our Release paperwork. When we landed; the Captain called someone in Dispatch who could tell us what was actually sent to us via PDC. He told us that we were indeed sent a PDC with the VENTURA 5 Departure with a change in it to the FIXIT 2 Departure. I never saw the change either at the gate programming the FMC from the PDC or when we looked at it again in the air.I have several suggestions to prevent this from happening: First; I will double check and triple check the PDC for any changes to our route. I also think that the format of the PDC could be improved a lot. For instance; when there is a change to it; both the original route and the route change are on the PDC; often right next to each other. Why not just put what you are cleared for on the PDC instead of having two different routes on the PDC. This is an easy way to get confused on which one is which. The other is the way the change shows up. There is a minus sign followed by the change followed by another minus sign. A minus sign could be easily misinterpreted for 'this is what we are taking out of your flight plan. I simple didn't catch difference between filed flight plan and our PDC.
An Air Carrier crew's initial LAX VTU5 Departure filed route was changed on the PDC to the FIXIT 2 Departure but the crew failed to see the change. After takeoff ATC advised about active military airspace so after landing Dispatch confirmed the missed revised PDC routing.