Narrative:

I was working ground control; runway 17 was in use. I had control of runway 9/27 and 5/23. A bi-plane requested runway 9 and I gave control of the runway to local control (local control). The flm had just made an on the spot correction with me for new phraseology for runway crossings; and I asked if it pertained to closed runways the truck was working on. The flm told me to read order north jo 7110.532 page 2. I began reading the order and was trying to understand it when the truck requested to drive to the south tees and I told him to drive via taxiway a cross runway 9/27;turn right on taxiway B to the tees; while reading the order; forgetting that I gave the runway to local control. When I looked up I saw the bi-plane on runway 9 and the truck pulling off at taxi B into the tees. At that time I became aware that I had crossed the runway without coordination. I know this would never have happened if we were looking out of the window and not distracted reading orders and talking about this order while working. This happened with 2 controllers and a flm working in the tower working one aircraft and one vehicle. Recommendation: 1. Flm should not distract controllers while working position. 2. Controllers should not have heads down reading orders when they should be looking out the window at the operation on the field. 3. Positions should not be de-combined when traffic is slow just to throw extra bodies on position causing extra coordination and distractions. If I was working local control/ground control combined I would have been more aware of the bi-plane and truck; and this would have never happened. More isn't always better; and now we are splitting positions with very light traffic. Others have noticed extra coordination and confusion.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AZO Ground Controller experienced a loss of separation when clearing an airport vehicle across an active runway without required coordination; the reporter claiming a supervisors directive caused a distraction.

Narrative: I was working Ground Control; Runway 17 was in use. I had control of Runway 9/27 and 5/23. A Bi-Plane requested Runway 9 and I gave control of the runway to Local Control (LC). The FLM had just made an on the spot correction with me for new phraseology for runway crossings; and I asked if it pertained to closed runways the truck was working on. The FLM told me to read Order N JO 7110.532 page 2. I began reading the Order and was trying to understand it when the truck requested to drive to the South Tees and I told him to drive via Taxiway A cross Runway 9/27;turn right on Taxiway B to the Tees; while reading the Order; forgetting that I gave the runway to LC. When I looked up I saw the Bi-plane on Runway 9 and the truck pulling off at Taxi B into the Tees. At that time I became aware that I had crossed the runway without coordination. I know this would never have happened if we were looking out of the window and not distracted reading Orders and talking about this Order while working. This happened with 2 controllers and a FLM working in the Tower working one aircraft and one vehicle. Recommendation: 1. FLM should not distract controllers while working position. 2. Controllers should not have heads down reading Orders when they should be looking out the window at the operation on the field. 3. Positions should not be de-combined when traffic is slow just to throw extra bodies on position causing extra coordination and distractions. If I was working LC/GC combined I would have been more aware of the Bi-plane and Truck; and this would have never happened. More isn't always better; and now we are splitting positions with very light traffic. Others have noticed extra coordination and confusion.

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.