Cessna Citation Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Commercial
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Procedure
Departing KDAL 13L SWTSR3 ROLLS transition; we leveled at 4;000 feet. The clearance was written down by the PIC after being sent by PDC. Once I received our release; I copied the clearance he wrote on it.The PDC clearance was:SWTSR3 ROLLS J52 THEN AS FILED ATC INSTRUCTIONSCLEARED SWTSR3 DEPARTURE ROLLS TRSN CLIMB VIA SID EXP 400 10 MIN AFT DP; DPFRQ SEE SID SQUAWK: 2345The PIC stated after the event that he confused the EXP for and accept and that to level at 4;000 [feet] initially.The Departure Controller asked us why we were level at 4;000 [feet] and I said that was our clearance. He told us to climb and said that we were to climb via the SID.I am not aware of any traffic conflicts. The flight continued normally.The PDC has contractions that; while standard; confused the PIC. Are the contractions absolutely necessary? DAL is a large airport and like most if not all has PDC capability. I should have backed up my PIC and reviewed the PDC to double check.
PDC issued to flight crew was misinterpreted and flight crew leveled off at 4;000 feet when they were cleared to climb via the SID.