B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 75; Flight Crew Total 8000; Flight Crew Type 3300
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Procedure; Human Factors
We were cleared on the EPKEE TWO RNAV departure; clearance from PDC was climb and maintain 10;000 FT which we correctly did. We were approximately 4 miles west of MLHOS intersection and the Controller said '[Callsign] climb and maintain FL230; comply with SID altitude restrictions.' There was a slight pause in the middle of the transmission at the comma. I was hand flying. As I heard climb and maintain; I pushed up the power and began to rotate the nose upward. As the climb had just begun; the pilot not flying informed me that the next waypoint MLHOS had an; at or below 10;000 FT restriction. We reached 10;350 FT and returned to 10;000 FT. So why did this happen. I was hand flying the aircraft. When you hand fly; you can do things much faster than with autoflight. I heard climb and maintain so I began to climb. In retrospect; I should have waited until the MCP was reset and I verified before beginning the climb. Never before had I ever heard after an unrestricted climb (to 10;000 FT) level off; 'Climb and maintain XXX; comply with SID altitude restrictions.' I do feel however that these new RNAV SIDS are problematic for Controller communications. We climbed to 10;000. We were then given a climb; but interpreting the SID; the climb was not to begin for another 4 nm. A better way for the Controller to communicate would have been '[Callsign] maintain One Zero Thousand feet until MLHOS; then climb and maintain FL230 and comply with SID altitude restrictions.' Given that the new Climb Via SOP begins in a few days; I think standard phraseology will help things along with the use of VNAV exclusively for these procedures. If the controller had said something along the lines of 'Climb Via the SID; maintain FL230;' I am certain this event would not have happened.
Air Carrier flight crew; given a clearance to climb and comply with SID altitude restrictions; started an immediate climb before realizing that there was an altitude restriction at their present altitude for the next fix on the SID.