An air carrier flight crew was confused by the pit 28C signage '28C-approach' on taxiway east at the...

Narrative:

After pushback; we were cleared to taxi to runway 28C via taxiways V and east. Approximately 2000 feet from the departure end of runway 28C; we switched to pit tower frequency. On taxiway east still parallel to 28C and about 200 feet from the departure end of the runway; we encountered conflicting runway signage and taxiway markings. The sign indicated 28C-approach while the markings indicated hold short. I realize this is a commerical chart page 10-7 note but the note also says that pit tower will issue hold short at the 28C-approach line; a clearance we did not receive. There is an extremely high probability of a runway incursion under the present circumstances as flight crews do not typically hold short at the 28C-approach point without specific instruction to do so by the controlling facility. We would normally hold at the rwy 28C/10C sign. Either the verbal instruction to hold short should consistently be given or; better yet; the conflicting sign and markings should be resolved.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Air Carrier flight crew was confused by the PIT 28C signage '28C-APCH' on Taxiway E at the HOLD SHORT marking because ATC did not issue a verbal 'Hold Short' instruction as anticipated because of a published Airport Note.

Narrative: After pushback; we were cleared to taxi to Runway 28C via taxiways V and E. Approximately 2000 feet from the departure end of Runway 28C; we switched to PIT Tower frequency. On Taxiway E still parallel to 28C and about 200 feet from the departure end of the runway; we encountered conflicting runway signage and taxiway markings. The sign indicated 28C-APCH while the markings indicated hold short. I realize this is a commerical chart page 10-7 note but the note also says that PIT Tower will issue hold short at the 28C-APCH line; a clearance we did NOT receive. There is an extremely high probability of a runway incursion under the present circumstances as flight crews do not typically hold short at the 28C-APCH point without specific instruction to do so by the controlling facility. We would normally hold at the Rwy 28C/10C sign. Either the verbal instruction to hold short should consistently be given or; better yet; the conflicting sign and markings should be resolved.

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.

Attributes
ACN	858435
Time
Date	200911
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	PIT.Airport
State Reference	PA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 201 Flight Crew Type 201
Person 2
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 230
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Incursion Runway

An air carrier flight crew was confused by the pit 28C signage '28C-approach' on taxiway east at the hold short marking because ATC did not issue a verbal 'hold short' instruction as anticipated because of a published airport note.