Narrative:

I was receiving on job training on ground control. An AC-95 landed on runway 11L and exited/taxied on taxiway H failing to hold short of runway 11R hold short bars penetrating the runway 11R obstacle free zone. After the AC-95 exited runway 11L; the pilot contacted me on ground control frequency requesting to taxi to parking. While the pilot was transmitting; I was in the process of coordinating the runway crossing for the AC-95 with local 1 after traffic landed on runway 11R. The AC-95 never stopped on taxiway H and continued across the runway 11R hold short bars requiring local control 1 to send an aircraft around. No separation was lost. After becoming aware of the AC-95 crossing the hold short bars for runway 11R; I immediately instructed the aircraft to 'hold position.' it took 2 transmissions for an acknowledgement to stop. By the time the aircraft did stop; the AC-95 was across the hold short bar. The aircraft is a locally based pilot with plenty of experience flying in/out of toa. During the phone interview; the pilot stated he was unaware of any hold short bars for runway 11R on taxiway H or a requirement to receive a runway crossing authorization for that area. This is the second safety event that I personally submitted with this taxiway/runway crossing and have witnessed several other events that could have lead to similar events. All facility personal at toa tower is well aware of this hazardous crossing of runway 29L/11R at taxiway H however most pilots seem to be unaware that taxiway H does require a runway crossing authorization. I believe there are 3 major contributing factors to this: 1) taxiway H does not actually cross runway 29L/11R. Taxiway H is considered to penetrate the runway 29L/11R obstacle free zone and needs to be sterile during runway 29L/11R operations. 2) at the west end of the field; taxiway C has a similar lay out as taxiway H but because taxiway C is outside the obstacle free zone for runway 29L/11R it does not require a runway crossing authorization. Normal toa flow/operations are west traffic which utilizes runway 29L/right and taxiway C is the normal exit/taxiway from the main runway 29R. Since normal operations do not require any runway crossings; it is an uncommon practice/situation for a pilot to expect/listen for/ or question runway crossing. 3) lastly; I feel a poor practice on behalf of controllers is also a contributing factor. Despite a requirement in our SOP for ground control to coordinate with local control to cross runway 29L/11R at taxiway H and to utilize placard 'memory joggers;' most controllers do not include runway crossing phraseology when speaking to the aircraft. Because taxiway H does not actually cross runway 29L/11R; some controllers feel it confuses the pilot to hear a runway crossing authorization when there is no runway to cross or; the runway crossing phraseology does not apply to this situation/location. These inconsistencies in controller phraseology/handling of the runway crossing at taxiway H could cause confusion amongst pilots. Some sort of 'hot spot' notice on published charts might help pilots realize they are crossing a runway and should listen for a crossing authorization.' also; some sort of controller clarity or standard phraseology for handling a crossing of runway 29L/11R at taxiway H should be addressed. I don't believe it is fair to deviate a pilot or have runway incursions when there is uncertainty with this operation.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: TOA Controller described a runway incursion event; listing confusion on the part of pilots and less than clear controller phraseology as casual factors.

Narrative: I was receiving On Job Training on Ground Control. An AC-95 landed on Runway 11L and exited/taxied on Taxiway H failing to hold short of Runway 11R hold short bars penetrating the Runway 11R obstacle free zone. After the AC-95 exited Runway 11L; the pilot contacted me on Ground Control frequency requesting to taxi to parking. While the pilot was transmitting; I was in the process of coordinating the runway crossing for the AC-95 with Local 1 after traffic landed on Runway 11R. The AC-95 never stopped on Taxiway H and continued across the Runway 11R hold short bars requiring Local Control 1 to send an aircraft around. No separation was lost. After becoming aware of the AC-95 crossing the hold short bars for Runway 11R; I immediately instructed the aircraft to 'Hold Position.' It took 2 transmissions for an acknowledgement to stop. By the time the aircraft did stop; the AC-95 was across the hold short bar. The aircraft is a locally based pilot with plenty of experience flying in/out of TOA. During the phone interview; the pilot stated he was unaware of any hold short bars for Runway 11R on Taxiway H or a requirement to receive a runway crossing authorization for that area. This is the second safety event that I personally submitted with this taxiway/runway crossing and have witnessed several other events that could have lead to similar events. All facility personal at TOA Tower is well aware of this hazardous crossing of Runway 29L/11R at Taxiway H however most pilots seem to be unaware that Taxiway H does require a runway crossing authorization. I believe there are 3 major contributing factors to this: 1) Taxiway H DOES NOT actually cross Runway 29L/11R. Taxiway H is considered to penetrate the Runway 29L/11R obstacle free zone and needs to be sterile during Runway 29L/11R operations. 2) At the west end of the field; Taxiway C has a similar lay out as Taxiway H but because Taxiway C is outside the obstacle free zone for Runway 29L/11R it DOES NOT require a runway crossing authorization. Normal TOA flow/operations are west traffic which utilizes Runway 29L/R and Taxiway C is the normal exit/taxiway from the main Runway 29R. Since normal operations do not require any runway crossings; it is an uncommon practice/situation for a pilot to expect/listen for/ or question runway crossing. 3) Lastly; I feel a poor practice on behalf of controllers is also a contributing factor. Despite a requirement in our SOP for Ground Control to coordinate with Local Control to cross Runway 29L/11R at Taxiway H and to utilize placard 'memory joggers;' most controllers DO NOT include runway crossing phraseology when speaking to the aircraft. Because Taxiway H does not actually cross Runway 29L/11R; some controllers feel it confuses the pilot to hear a runway crossing authorization when there is no runway to cross or; the runway crossing phraseology does not apply to this situation/location. These inconsistencies in controller phraseology/handling of the runway crossing at Taxiway H could cause confusion amongst pilots. Some sort of 'Hot Spot' notice on published charts might help pilots realize they are crossing a runway and should listen for a crossing authorization.' Also; some sort of controller clarity or standard phraseology for handling a crossing of Runway 29L/11R at Taxiway H should be addressed. I don't believe it is fair to deviate a pilot or have runway incursions when there is uncertainty with this operation.

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.