A MDT CROSSES AN ACTIVE RWY DURING TAXI OUT AT VPS; FL.

Narrative

AT APPROX AB44 Z TIME ON AUG/XX/96; OUR FLT CALLED EGLIN GND AND ADVISED THEM WE WERE 'READY TO TAXI' AND THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THE CURRENT ATIS. THE CTLR RESPONDED 'ACR TAXI TO RWY 19.' WE PROCEEDED OUT OF THE RAMP AREA AND TAXIED DOWN TXWY H. IT IS NECESSARY TO CROSS RWY 01/19 AT THE DEP END OF RWY 19 IN ORDER TO GET TO THE APCH END FOR TKOF. THE CAPT AND I PROCEEDED TO LOOK DOWN THE 10000 FT- LONG RWY FOR TFC UPON REACHING THE INTXN SINCE IT IS ULTIMATELY OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO 'AVOID COLLISION WITH OTHER ACFT.' (AIM 4-67B). AFTER FAILING TO SEE THE TFC; WE CROSSED THE RWY SINCE WE WERE GIVEN A 'TAXI TO' CLRNC WITHOUT ANY HOLD SHORT INSTRUCTIONS. WE WERE AWARE THIS TYPE OF CLRNC AUTHS US TO 'CROSS ALL RWYS WHICH THE TAXI RTE INTERSECTS' (AIM 4-67A.5). HOWEVER; WE WERE UNAWARE THAT IT DID NOT AUTH US TO CROSS THE ASSIGNED RWY AT ANY POINT. THESE WERE THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LED TO THE CTLR ASKING IF WE WERE AWARE WE HAD CROSSED AN ACTIVE RWY WITHOUT A CLRNC. BY QUESTIONING MANY OF OUR COLLEAGUES; THE CAPT AND I FOUND THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THEM WOULD HAVE ACTED IN THE SAME MANNER WE DID. THIS IS THE MAIN REASON WE DECIDED TO FILE THIS RPT. WE FEEL THIS SIT CAN BE AVOIDED IN THE FUTURE. ALTHOUGH WE BELIEVED THAT WE WERE CLRED TO CROSS ALL RWYS; IT IS CERTAINLY NEVER A BAD IDEA TO VERIFY THAT CLRNC (ESPECIALLY IF AN ACTIVE RWY IS INVOLVED). ANOTHER SIMPLE PROC WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE CTLR TO ISSUE A 'HOLD SHORT' INSTRUCTION DURING HIS INITIAL TAXI CLRNC. UPON MANDATORY READBACK OF THIS INSTRUCTION; WE WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT XING THE RWY. AS WITH MANY AVIATION OCCURRENCES; IT SEEMS THAT THE COM PROCESS BTWN 2 PARTIES HAD BROKEN DOWN. THE CAPT AND I (AND POSSIBLY OTHERS) WERE IN THE MINDSET THAT 'TAXI TO' ONLY MEANT DO NOT CROSS THE ACTIVE RWY AT THE ACTUAL TKOF POINT. EVEN THOUGH THE AIM CLRLY STATES OTHERWISE (MAKING US IN THE WRONG); WE FEEL THAT SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS A HOLD SHORT CLRNC SHOULD BE STATED IN AS MANY WORDS AND NOT THROUGH REF TO A SMALL PARAGRAPH IN THE ATC SECTION OF THE AIM (4-67A.5).