B737-900
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Training / Qualification; Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Human Factors; Procedure; Airspace Structure
The flight was enroute from BWI to IAH. Their filed route was: KBWI.TERPZ3.LDN.J134.COLNS.J6.BWG..MEM.J29.ELD..SWB.TXMEX1.KIAHTheir PDR [Preferred Departure Routing] issued via PDC was: TERPZ3.LDN.J134.COLNS.J6.HVQAt HVQ; the flight turned off their route (J6 - next fix BWG) and proceeded direct MEM. When questioned; the pilot stated that he had received an amended clearance from BWI that 'basically had us going to HVQ then direct MEM from our original flight plan'.At ZID; we are seeing this as a frequent and recurring problem with departures from the DC metro area. For several years; this has been an issue (pilots' skipping fixes after hitting a point on a PDR) along J134. The same problem; skipping fixes; is now occurring along J6. I suspect that there is either an FMS database/programming problem; or a pilot knowledge/complacency issue. I recommend either changing the PDC format to include more fixes to make it foolproof for pilots; or issue full route clearances.
An ARTCC Controller expressed his concern about flight crews misinterpreting the intent of PDRs when included on their PDC messages and subsequently failing to follow their 'cleared' routing.