B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 159
Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
Departed BWI on CONLE3 SID which calls for approximately heading of 285 for few miles to BOSLY then a left turns to about 150 degree track to RAISN. Climbing through 1200 feet and checking in with Potomac we were given a left turn heading 090 to level at 3000 ft (not PDC 4000 ft). Said to look for traffic at 12 to 1 o'clock 3500 feet a Cessna 152.We were climbing at a rate of 1800 ft/min and needed to level quickly at a new 3000 ft and execute a full left turn of 180 degree while cleaning up flaps etc. We got the plane leveled and turned. The turn Potomac gave us ended up turning us DIRECTLY into the Cessna's path. We ended up with a 'Monitor Vertical Speed' RA with the associated red chevrons on the PFD (Primary Flight Display). The Cessna's altitude was fluctuating +/- 100 ft likely due to their hand flying.Although we never received RA derived instructions we did a small decent to approx. 2800 ft as a cushion to this Cessna's fluctuation and uncertainty of their altitude holding ability; as we watched the Cessna pass off the nose overhead.My problem with this whole event was not the RA and the Cessna in the airspace; but was the procedures/instructions given to us by Potomac.Why turn us 180 degree opposite the departure heading and greater than 50 degree more than the SID turn would have given us to essentially turn us DIRECTLY at them.Why level us at 3000 feet when we were already thru 1500 feet checking in with a climb rate in excess of 1800 ft/min going AWAY from the traffic. Even though the procedure called for a left turn back towards the Cessna wouldn't it have been more prudent to climb us straight for a few miles and then turn. We would have cleared that Cessna by 2000 ft easily. The airspace out in front of us westward from runway 28 is covered by a different SID (TERPZ) and owned by Potomac so there was not an airspace problem.Potomac seemed indifferent that they turned us so dynamically while in a departure with instruction/clearance that ended up causing an RA. Seemed like they chose the easiest solution available to them that gave Priority to the Cessna and allowed them to not give multiple clearances to us.Priority not given to aircraft within a Class B; (if that was the case as indicated to me it might have been). Easily could have delayed our departure on the ground if they were mission critical. Priority not given to slower less maneuverable Cessna within a Class B; or simply not let them fly as an obvious conflict altitude right through a departure corridor.Married to a SID is a bad policy; when you would rather create an RA than deviate an aircraft from that SID or re-clear to a different SID is a problem.Do not clear slow less maneuverable aircraft directly through a major departure SID corridor at such a conflicting altitude. There had to be a better dynamic than 3500 ft when aircraft are departing BWI with a 4000 PDC clearance.
We departed Runway 28 at BWI on the CONLE 3 Departure; while climbing out on a 285 heading we were given a left turn vector to 090 heading and 3000 ft. Our on course SID heading would have been approximately 160 degrees. As we were turning; traffic was called and we had the Cessna on our TCAS. It was at approximately 11 o'clock. The Pilot Flying greatly slowed our climb as we were on a converging course with the Cessna. We picked up the Cessna visually and got an RA as we leveled at 3000 ft. The Cessna passed overhead showing 400 ft to 500 ft of separation.This event seemed very strange in that we were turned 195 degrees towards traffic that had minimal vertical separation. We do not have the benefit of seeing the Controllers screen; but; this seemed to be a perfect recipe to create an RA event. As we were monitoring the traffic and watching how close we would cross; one cannot help but think that there must be another heading or climb within the 195 degrees of a turn that would not put us on a direct intercept course with this conflicting traffic.
B737 flight crew reported departing BWI on the CONLE3 to 4;000 feet. The initial heading is 285 but Departure issued a heading of 090 and level at 3;000 resulting in a conflict with a C152 and a TCAS RA. Remaining on the CONLE SID would have avoided the conflict.