CSJ79 - Misunderstanding of amended departure instructions? (CYOW, Ottawa)

[janlam01]

Description of Ottawa Three SID Departure
- Climb Runway heading, unless otherwise assigned
- Jet aircraft initial climb altitude of 5000 feet, unless otherwise assigned
- Prop aircraft initial climb altitude of 3000 feet, unless otherwise assigned

Observation of the flight in question
Every so often, the Controller (Ottawa Tower) will amend the SID for prop aircraft by giving the aircraft a turn. In this case, the Controller amended the SID by instructing the pilot to turn left heading 290 at 1500 feet on departure off Runway 32. However the pilot after take off stated the initial climb of 1500 feet instead of 3000 feet, as per Departure instructions. Attached is the audio clip.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSJ79/history/20150219/1830Z/CYOW/KERI

I wonder, did the pilot misunderstand the instruction given? Or was the instruction given by Tower weren't clear enough?

I know in the past I've heard the Controller phrased the instructions like this when amending the SID for an aircraft departing off Rwy 32: "....leaving one thousand five hundred (1500) feet, turn left heading two niner zero, balanced unchanged. "

Thoughts?

[oktalist]

I listened to the clip before reading your post. It definitely sounded like tower amended the initial climb altitude to 1500ft and the departure heading to 290. I listened again after reading your post and noticed the little word "at" which completely changed the meaning. I believe it should have been "leaving" or "passing" 1500ft, and "turn left heading" or "turn right heading" not just "heading". And while we're at it, one thousand five hundred, not fifteen hundred.

It reminds me of a near miss between a civilian A300 cargo flight and an RAF Chinook at Brize Norton EGVN in 2011. The initial climb altitude of the A300 was amended to 2200ft while he was taxiing, to provide separation against the Chinook. The controller's use of obsolete military phraseology led to a misunderstanding; the A300 crew thought they were being told that the take-off distance available for their intersection departure would be 2200ft.

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Airbus%20A300-605R%20TC-MNV%20and%20Chinook%20HC2%20ZA720%2007-12.pdf