B737 flight crew questions ATC taxi takeoff procedures at mdw.

Attributes
ACN	593664
Time
Date	200309
Day	Sun
Place
Locale Reference	airport : mdw.airport
State Reference	IL
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Fokker 100
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : taxi ground : position and hold
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Controlling Facilities	tower : mdw.tower
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : position and hold ground : taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
ASRS Report	593664
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

ATC facility: mdw tower. Location: mdw taxi pretkof. Mdw tower was telling flts to (for example) 'follow aircraft Y into position and hold.' at the time of the instruction, aircraft Y was taxiing into position to hold themselves. The problem is that aircraft Y was then not immediately cleared for takeoff. In fact, they are not cleared for takeoff for another min or so. And, you may or may not be given another instruction to taxi into position and hold. If not vigilant, you could expect the previous flight to depart quickly and wind up with a runway incursion as the previous flight does not depart before you slide across the hold short line.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 FLT CREW QUESTIONS ATC TAXI TKOF PROCS AT MDW.

Narrative: ATC FACILITY: MDW TWR. LOCATION: MDW TAXI PRETKOF. MDW TWR WAS TELLING FLTS TO (FOR EXAMPLE) 'FOLLOW ACFT Y INTO POS AND HOLD.' AT THE TIME OF THE INSTRUCTION, ACFT Y WAS TAXIING INTO POS TO HOLD THEMSELVES. THE PROB IS THAT ACFT Y WAS THEN NOT IMMEDIATELY CLRED FOR TKOF. IN FACT, THEY ARE NOT CLRED FOR TKOF FOR ANOTHER MIN OR SO. AND, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE GIVEN ANOTHER INSTRUCTION TO TAXI INTO POS AND HOLD. IF NOT VIGILANT, YOU COULD EXPECT THE PREVIOUS FLT TO DEPART QUICKLY AND WIND UP WITH A RWY INCURSION AS THE PREVIOUS FLT DOES NOT DEPART BEFORE YOU SLIDE ACROSS THE HOLD SHORT LINE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.