Originally Posted by
RifRaf3
"it has been stated many times that his increase in FlL request was denied. It's highly unlikely that he would initiate a unauthorized climb to move up to optimum ."
He had been cleared to climb from FL320 to FL340 and to await further clearance. He shot through FL340 in the zoom. A 90 degree turn is not a w/x 'deviation'; it would need a PAN call or at least to advise how many degrees. It's normal to state how many degrees L/R, or more usually, the number of miles off track required.
He had been cleared to FL340 but there was never a response to that clearance. That tells me they never heard it. It also tells me they did not respond because they were already too busy dealing with the problem that caused the aircraft to climb unintentionally. I believe it had to be a mechanical/software issue, a weather related updraft, or a combination of both.
I can't see any other explanation as to why they never responded to the ATC clearance they were given.