MLG FAILS TO CONTACT GND CTL; CROSSES ACTIVE RWY.

Narrative

THIS WAS A TAXI INCIDENT FOR A FLT FROM BWI TO BDL; PART 121. THE THEME WAS HIGH WORKLOAD; MULTIPLE DISTRS AND GENERALLY RUSHING/BEING RUSHED. THE CAPT ARRIVED IN THE COCKPIT SHORTLY BEFORE PUSHBACK. THE FLT WAS FULL (WITHIN 9 SEATS) AND HAD A JUMPSEATER ONBOARD THE MLG X. WE WERE COMPLETING CHKLISTS AS THE GATE AGENT DELIVERED FINAL PAX COUNTS; FUEL; AND SECURITY DATA. FLT ATTENDANTS GAVE US THEIR PAX COUNT AND SAFETY CHK COMPLETE MESSAGE (AND THE CAPT WAS TRYING TO CARRY ON A CONVERSATION WITH THE JUMPSEAT OCCUPANT VIRTUALLY UNTIL WE WERE #1 FOR TKOF). I OBTAINED A PUSHBACK CLRNC FROM RAMP CTL AND THE CHKLISTS WERE CONTINUED DURING THE PUSHBACK (AS WELL AS STARTING OUR #1 ENG). THE #1 ENG WAS STARTED; THE CAPT CALLED FOR THE AFTER START CHKLIST FOR SE TAXI; AT THE SAME TIME I CALLED FOR TAXI CLRNC FROM RAMP CTL AND I WAS BEGINNING TO READ THE WT AND BAL INFO THAT WAS ARRIVING VIA OUR ACARS UNIT; WHICH SHOWED AN INCORRECT PAX COUNT. I READ THE AFTER START CHKLIST (CHALLENGE/RESPONSE) AND GOT THE RAMP TAXI CLRNC TO FOLLOW THE MLG Y AHEAD TO THE SPOT (THE POINT TO CONTACT GND CTL). I TOLD THE CAPT TO FOLLOW THE MLG Y TO THE SPOT AND SAID THAT I WOULD BE OFF FREQ TO TALK TO LOAD CTL TO GET THE WT AND BAL CORRECTED. IT WAS A SHORT TAXI TO THE 'SPOT' AND MY HEAD WAS DOWN AS I WAS WORKING TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE WT AND BAL DATA. I ALSO HAD TO CALL THE FLT ATTENDANTS TO GET THEM TO VERIFY THE PAX COUNT. I FELT THE ACFT TURN THE CORNER AT THE SPOT AND GLANCED UP TO NOTICE WE WERE STILL FOLLOWING THE MLG Y. THE CAPT CALLED TO START THE SECOND ENG WHILE I WAS COMPLETING THE WT AND BAL 'TRANSACTION.' HE WANTED ME TO START THE ENG 'UNASSISTED' WHILE HE TAXIED. I ACCOMPLISHED THE FIRST STEP (TO CONFIGURE THE ACFT SYS AND OPEN THE START VALVE) AND RPTED THAT I WAS BACK ON FREQ. AS I DID THIS; I SENSED THE ACFT TURNING TO CROSS A RWY ENRTE TO THE ACTIVE RWY AND SWITCHED MY MIKE SELECTOR TO #1; ADJUSTED THE VOLUME; AND THEN GLANCED AT THE #1 RADIO HEAD AND WAS HORRIFIED TO NOTE THAT IT WAS STILL ON THE RAMP CTL FREQ AND HADN'T BEEN SWITCHED TO GND CTL! WE WERE XING A RWY WITHOUT CLRNC! I YELLED TO THE CAPT THAT WE WERE XING A RWY WITHOUT CLRNC; AND THAT WE WERE STILL ON RAMP CTL FREQ! (HE SHOULD HAVE SWITCHED FREQS AT THE SPOT AND GOTTEN TAXI CLRNC FROM GND CTL THERE.) HE SLOWED THE ACFT BUT CONTINUED TO TAXI AND TOLD ME NOT TO TALK TO GND. JUST SWITCH TO TWR AND MAYBE THEY WON'T NOTICE. TWR CONTACTED US SHORTLY AFTERWARD TO ASK IF WE'D RECEIVED TAXI CLRNC AND WE ADMITTED THAT WE WERE EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT THAT WE HADN'T. NO FURTHER COMMENT CAME FROM THE TWR. THE CHAIN OF EVENTS OF RUSHING/BEING RUSHED LED TO THIS INCIDENT. WHEN POSSIBLE; FLC MEMBERS TRY TO DOUBLE CHK EACH OTHER; BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THEY ARE IN SEPARATE 'LOOPS' AND MUST SIMPLY TRUST THAT THE OTHER PLT WILL DO HIS JOB WHILE THE OTHER IS AWAY. THIS WAS MY FOURTH TRIP FROM THIS BASE; BUT THE CAPT HAD BEEN ON THE E COAST FOR 16 YRS. (I'M FROM THE W COAST.) I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THAT HE WOULD HAVE HAD A BETTER SITUATIONAL AWARENESS THAN HE DID. OF COURSE; THE ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACK CAN OBSERVE AND SAY THAT I SHOULD HAVE SPOKEN UP TO SAY THAT WE WERE RUSHING AND THAT WE SHOULD SLOW DOWN; THAT THE JUMPSEATER AND THE CAPT SHOULD CEASE THEIR CONVERSATION DURING TAXI; AND THAT I GENERALLY SHOULD HAVE KEPT A CLOSER EYE ON THE CAPT AND THE TAXI OPS AND ALLOWED THE WT AND BAL ISSUE TO WAIT UNTIL THE RUNUP AREA AND ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENTIAL DELAY. I DEFINITELY WILL DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME AND SPEAK UP EARLY.