2023-01 · NASA ASRS report 1967403
Air carrier First Officers reported difficulty locating the correct taxiway to the runway at RCA airport. The pilots stated their EFB does not contain complete airport information; and cited poor taxiway lighting; initial confusing marshaller signals and inadequate help from ATC as additional contributing factors.
This was our second long day of sitting on the aircraft waiting for fuel to be loaded. Our first day ended when the airfield closed; because we delayed several hours due to insufficient support for two aircraft and a single fuel truck in operation. From the time we completed our aircraft preflight procedures and briefing; approximately 2 hours had passed. I was the Pilot Flying (PF) in the right seat and the Captain (CA) was the Pilot Monitoring (PM) in the left seat. There were two additional First Officers (FO) seated in the observer seats. The company pages for Ellsworth AFB states that for departures 'expect taxi clearance to runway via Taxiway Delta and back taxi.' There is further information provided for the arrivals section that states this is due to pavement degradation. This expected clearance is exactly what the company aircraft in front of us received the day prior; and is what we briefed. When we received our taxi clearance we were simply told to taxi via 'Alpha Bravo.' As we commenced our taxi there was a marshaller positioned directly in front of us; and he signaled for us to taxi straight ahead; then directed us for an immediate right turn towards DELTA Taxiway. As we were nearing the runway; the FO in the left observer seat reminded me to turn left onto Alpha; which the entire crew agreed with. As we turned down the taxiway; it appeared to be very close to some blast fences on the right; so with the CA's concurrence I opted to taxi left of the center line so we had ample wingtip clearance on the right side. This area where we were taxiing was a large (vacant) parking ramp. This Taxiway Alpha has a slight right turn; then a left turn back to parallel the runway. As we made this right turn (approximately 45 deg) I immediately realized something was wrong. The taxiway had a dead end directly in front of us; and the blue taxiway lights were now on our left side. I quickly came to a stop and we queried Ground Control; while referencing our taxi diagram. The crew thought that perhaps the blue taxiway lights were center line taxi lights; and the Ground Control commented that those lights 'used to be green.' The crew further interpreted this to be center line taxi lights; so we again continued to taxi to the left to intercept what we thought was center line taxi lights. We again realized this was not the case; and these recessed lights denoted the right side of the taxiway. We crossed over the recessed taxi edge lights onto the appropriate taxiway; and continued our taxi to Runway 31 without any further issues. At no time did the aircraft ever leave a hard surface or an area in which was not intended for aircraft travel; it was simply an area that was not specifically marked as the Alpha Taxiway. Where we were actually located was on a back alleyway for the hardstand parking locations of the ramp. Several factors played into this event; including the following; The long delay due to fueling issues; and duration from the time we briefed. Expectation bias originating from the company airport page and the marshaller/equipment in front of us. Poor taxi diagram available for the airfield which appears to identify two parallel Alpha taxiway lines; which is actually the taxi width line on the ramp area. Incorrect information from ground control concerning taxiway edge lights and colors versus taxiway center line lights; which did not exist. Poor ramp lighting and non standard airport markings.Even though we briefed what was expected and all monitoring pilots had taxi diagrams open and followed along the taxi route; we were still easily confused due to the information we had available. I believe that instead of 'expecting' a clearance to back taxi on the runway; this should be standard operating procedure at this airport. There are far too many hazards and traps with the limited information on this airfield and non standard markings.
PM (Pilot Monitoring) briefed taxi route per company page; via Delta and back-taxi to departure Runway 31. We were cleared by ATC to taxi via Alpha; Bravo. Upon signaling marshaller; we were directed onto Delta; the marshaller and a piece of equipment blocking a straight-out taxi. Prior to entering taxiway Delta I advised a left turn was necessary to enter taxiway Alpha 'Outer' there being two taxi lines depicted on the airport chart. A turn was made and we followed taxiway Alpha 'Outer' realizing; as we neared the curve in the taxiway that something was amiss. We stopped the aircraft; queried ATC; and were assured our taxi path was correct. Being situated behind the Captain (4th Observer) I did not have a good view of the taxiway ahead and to the right of the aircraft; however; I could see out the left window clearly. The Captain and I observed a wide swath of taxiway left of the aircraft; and the PM maneuvered accordingly. We joined taxiway Bravo at the runway end; and departed Runway 31. The non-standard markings; poor airfield and taxiway lighting; and operations of a military airfield were contributing factors. The marshaller put us on the wrong path initially by blocking a straight-out taxi. The two taxi 'lanes' for taxiway Alpha are misleading. There is no Jepp AMM (Airport Moving Map) for RCA making Ownship position a guesstimate. It seemed once we made the turn that we were taxing on the 'Outer' taxi lane for taxiway Alpha. ATC never stopped or queried us; and when we queried ATC we were given inaccurate information back. Additionally; we had observed a military aircraft take that path in advance of our departure; making it seem there were two; legitimate; taxi lines for taxiway Alpha. The company page could clarify the taxiway Alpha markings. Not being familiar with military airfields it looked as if there were two taxi lines for taxiway Alpha. Further; we could have pressed ATC for the suggested route of taxiway Delta with the back-taxi to the runway.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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