Narrative:

On taxi out; ramp assigned us spot xx and then to contact ground. There were a lot of aircraft on the ground and although there was no weather in phl; there was weather in some of the outlying areas. We were given taxi instructions to basically follow the other aircraft to runway 27L. Normally these instructions are hotel-echo-kilo. We were on hotel taxiway when the controller told us that the woodstown (ood) departures were shut down due to weather and that he/she would have to hold us somewhere and give us a different route. At this time they gave us taxi instructions; hotel-kilo short of lima. These instructions were read back by my first officer. No instructions were given to hold short of runway 35; which did not seem to be in use as we taxied. As we continued on hotel; I cleared final and saw no aircraft on final. Then as we were just sticking our nose out onto runway 35; the controller said; you made a wrong turn; expedite across runway 35; traffic one and a half mile final. I quickly crossed the runway without incident in plenty of time; similar to a normal crossing. I did finally see the other aircraft on final near the end of the crossing. He was a small commuter aircraft that had been approaching from an unusual angle. After the crossing; the controller said nothing about a runway incursion or any reference to what just happened. In fact; the controller was very friendly and helpful throughout the rest of our communications while trying to get us on our way. The rest of the flight went without incident. I do not know whether this will end up being a statistical runway incursion but I am sure that it was not a good thing to be crossing a runway that had an aircraft on final when the controller did not expect it. I think some confusion may have taken place in the controller's mind as they contemplated where to put us because of the closed departure route. In hind sight; the controller probably meant to give different instructions. The clearance we understood and acknowledged allowed us to do exactly what we did and the controller probably realized that later on. In my mind; the instructions were reasonable and clear and made sense so that we could be taken out of line and moved somewhere to shut down if need be. Runway 35 had not seemed to be used that afternoon and I 'cleared' final as I always do before crossing. The small size and unusual sideways angle that the commuter was approaching from along with some haze prevented me from seeing him at the distance he was away. As it turned out; there was no immediate danger but hopefully with better communication during an unusual event; this kind of incident can be prevented. I think that the present clearances given that allow aircraft to cross all runways when a clearance is given to a certain point should probably be changed. In the future all communication from ATC that involve crossing a runway should specifically say cleared to cross that runway whether the runway is in use or not.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier taxiing for departure at PHL crossed Runway 35 to comply with taxi clearance; interpreting ATC instructions as authority to cross the runway; ATC questioned flight crew reference the crossing.

Narrative: On taxi out; ramp assigned us Spot XX and then to contact ground. There were a lot of aircraft on the ground and although there was no weather in PHL; there was weather in some of the outlying areas. We were given taxi instructions to basically follow the other aircraft to Runway 27L. Normally these instructions are Hotel-Echo-Kilo. We were on Hotel taxiway when the controller told us that the Woodstown (OOD) departures were shut down due to weather and that he/she would have to hold us somewhere and give us a different route. At this time they gave us taxi instructions; Hotel-Kilo short of Lima. These instructions were read back by my First Officer. No instructions were given to hold short of Runway 35; which did not seem to be in use as we taxied. As we continued on Hotel; I cleared final and saw no aircraft on final. Then as we were just sticking our nose out onto Runway 35; the controller said; you made a wrong turn; expedite across Runway 35; traffic one and a half mile final. I quickly crossed the runway without incident in plenty of time; similar to a normal crossing. I did finally see the other aircraft on final near the end of the crossing. He was a small commuter aircraft that had been approaching from an unusual angle. After the crossing; the Controller said nothing about a runway incursion or any reference to what just happened. In fact; the Controller was very friendly and helpful throughout the rest of our communications while trying to get us on our way. The rest of the flight went without incident. I do not know whether this will end up being a statistical runway incursion but I am sure that it was not a good thing to be crossing a runway that had an aircraft on final when the controller did not expect it. I think some confusion may have taken place in the Controller's mind as they contemplated where to put us because of the closed departure route. In hind sight; the Controller probably meant to give different instructions. The clearance we understood and acknowledged allowed us to do exactly what we did and the controller probably realized that later on. In my mind; the instructions were reasonable and clear and made sense so that we could be taken out of line and moved somewhere to shut down if need be. Runway 35 had not seemed to be used that afternoon and I 'cleared' final as I always do before crossing. The small size and unusual sideways angle that the commuter was approaching from along with some haze prevented me from seeing him at the distance he was away. As it turned out; there was no immediate danger but hopefully with better communication during an unusual event; this kind of incident can be prevented. I think that the present clearances given that allow aircraft to cross all runways when a clearance is given to a certain point should probably be changed. In the future all communication from ATC that involve crossing a runway should specifically say cleared to cross that runway whether the runway is in use or not.

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.