"Greg Esres" wrote in message
...
He/she created their own problem by clearing you into conflicting
traffic unless they can prove you deviated from your IFR clearance.

Do you feel that it's ATC's responsibility to protect the route of the
obstacle departure procedure, even when it's not included in the
pilot's clearance and does not lie in his route of flight?

Yes. It is my point that the ODP *is* included in an IFR departure
clearance unless ATC issues explicit alternate departure instructions as
part of the launch. Should ATC fail to protect for the ODP, the official
statement on the controller's operational error recert package will likely
include the sentance: "Primary cause: Controller A procedurally failed to
maintain vertical separation prior to losing lateral separation."


Even if it is ATC's responsibility do you not think it prudent of the
pilot to keep ATC informed of what he intends to do, as part of the
cooperative spirit?


I agree with you. I believe that it can be clearly prudent for the pilot to
keep ATC informed of what he intends to do, but within reason. I don't know
that it is always reasonable for you to tell ATC that you are going to be
flying the ODP though. The controller responsible for formulating your IFR
clearance is supposed to be a specialist in his/her airspace. He/she should
know if an ODP is an option when you depart. If that procedure is a threat
to another IFR aircraft, then ATC needs to eliminate the traffic threat via
alternate instructions or not clear you. Otherwise, your IFR clearance is
flawed (and ATC's fault).

Chip, ZTL