Date: 201202
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: SSO.VORTAC, AZ
Aircraft: Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Flight phase: Climb
Airspace: Class A ZAB
ATC / advisory: Center ZAB
Second aircraft: B737-300
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Enroute
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
Second reporter function: First Officer; Pilot Not Flying
Anomaly: Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation - Altitude Overshoot; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
Result: Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Contributing factors: Human Factors
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: I was working Sector 80. A CRJ checked on climbing to FL330. I had traffic at FL360; a B737; that I knew was a factor for the CRJ. At the lateral airspace boundary; per normal procedure; I climbed the CRJ to FL350. The pilot read back the altitude correctly. I was consciously attending to the altitude read back because I knew the traffic was a factor; they were red on URET; and I was kind of busy at the time. When the two were around 25 miles or so apart; I called the traffic. During my normal scan; I saw the CRJ was showing FL352 when they were nearly abeam the B737 and I asked the CRJ pilot their altitude; thinking it might have been a Mode C anomaly or sort box jump. The pilot said they were showing 300 FT high; apologized; and said they were correcting. I turned the CRJ 40 degrees left; told them to expedite. I turned the B737 20 degrees left in an attempt to keep some kind of separation. The Conflict Alert activated. The highest I saw the CRJ was FL355. I saw them go back down to FL350; then back up to FL351. Once I had them pried apart and back on course; I asked the CRJ what had happened. The pilot said that the altitude capture on the autopilot hadn't worked. They implied that it had failed twice.


Second narrative: The event happened north of SSO VOR on climb out. ATC assigned and altitude of FL330 initially. Nearing FL330 ATC assigned a new altitude of FL350 and informed us of opposite direction traffic at FL360. I guess the Captain (flying pilot) heard FL360 but I read back 'climb and maintain FL350. The Captain put 36;000 in the altitude preselect I guess. I looked at the altitude on the primary flight display and verified 35;000; which was the correct assigned altitude. The reason for possible confusion on my part was the sun was hitting the co-pilots primary flight display and was also in the corner of my eye bothering me. It appeared to me that the altitude set was 35;000 not 36;000 in which a six and a five on a sunned out reflecting display looked very similar. After I verified the altitude I put up the sun visor to get the sun out of the corner of my eye. I then begin looking for the traffic outside and then turned my attention to the TCAS. I noticed that the traffic was 25 NM away and 1;000 FT above. I then looked at the altimeter and noticed that we were climbing through FL350. I told the Captain to stop the climb [and that] we were supposed to stop at FL350. It took the Captain a couple of seconds to realize what was going on before he disconnected the autopilot and nosed the aircraft forward. At the same time we got a TCAS advisory and ATC asked us what altitude we were at. We had climbed to 35;400 before arresting the climb. I told ATC the autopilot did not capture because I still thought that 35;000 was set in the altitude preselect. The other aircraft was still 10 NM away and to our right when recovered. I was also tired; not yet fatigued; on my sixth leg and over 11 hours of duty. Suggest verifying the altitude more carefully under those circumstances.


Synopsis: Traffic assigned FL350 continued the climb above the assigned altitude conflicting with other traffic. Several versions of the factors involved are provided in this combined ATC/flight crew report.