An air carrier pilot cleared to taxi from spot via M and north missed M and taxied over a non taxiwa...

Attributes
ACN	819021
Time
Date	200901
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	LGA.Airport
State Reference	NY
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Experience	Flight Crew Total 10000
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Excursion Ramp

Narrative:

Pushed from gate and told to hold at spot X. Upon initial taxi; instructions were to go taxiway M; taxiway north; taxiway a. Upon initial taxi; we started our checklists and I cleared the right side. The captain started straight ahead and continued straight ahead and missed taxiway north. He went straight through and made a left on taxiway a. There is pavement between the taxiways and it was a non-event except he missed taxiway north. I had my head down at that point reading the taxi checklist. I looked up and saw he was not on the taxiway and told him we were not on the taxiway. He started to brake and we were already halfway through the area. He continued the taxi and everything was normal from there. There are taxi lights on the ramp that lead you straight ahead to the non-taxi area. They are to the right of taxiway north. It is a bit confusing at lga. There are not many blue taxi lights.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN AIR CARRIER PILOT CLEARED TO TAXI FROM SPOT VIA M AND N MISSED M AND TAXIED OVER A NON TAXIWAY INFIELD BETWEEN N AND M. THE TAXIWAY LIGHT LOCATIONS CONFUSED THE PILOT.

Narrative: PUSHED FROM GATE AND TOLD TO HOLD AT SPOT X. UPON INITIAL TAXI; INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO GO TAXIWAY M; TAXIWAY N; TAXIWAY A. UPON INITIAL TAXI; WE STARTED OUR CHECKLISTS AND I CLEARED THE RIGHT SIDE. THE CAPTAIN STARTED STRAIGHT AHEAD AND CONTINUED STRAIGHT AHEAD AND MISSED TAXIWAY N. HE WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH AND MADE A LEFT ON TAXIWAY A. THERE IS PAVEMENT BETWEEN THE TAXIWAYS AND IT WAS A NON-EVENT EXCEPT HE MISSED TAXIWAY N. I HAD MY HEAD DOWN AT THAT POINT READING THE TAXI CHECKLIST. I LOOKED UP AND SAW HE WAS NOT ON THE TAXIWAY AND TOLD HIM WE WERE NOT ON THE TAXIWAY. HE STARTED TO BRAKE AND WE WERE ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH THE AREA. HE CONTINUED THE TAXI AND EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL FROM THERE. THERE ARE TAXI LIGHTS ON THE RAMP THAT LEAD YOU STRAIGHT AHEAD TO THE NON-TAXI AREA. THEY ARE TO THE RIGHT OF TAXIWAY N. IT IS A BIT CONFUSING AT LGA. THERE ARE NOT MANY BLUE TAXI LIGHTS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

An air carrier pilot cleared to taxi from spot via M and north missed M and taxied over a non taxiway infield between north and M. The taxiway light locations confused the pilot.