B727 FLC HEARS TAXI CLRNC FOR ACFT WITH SIMILAR SOUNDING A/N AND TURNS TO CROSS RWY WITH CLRNC INTENDED FOR ANOTHER ACFT.
Synopsis
B727 FLC HEARS TAXI CLRNC FOR ACFT WITH SIMILAR SOUNDING A/N AND TURNS TO CROSS RWY WITH CLRNC INTENDED FOR ANOTHER ACFT.
Narrative
LANDED RWY 22L; EWR CLRED TXWY N STOPPED TXWY P. TOLD TWR WE WERE GOING TO XXX PARK. TWR CLRED TO TAXI R TURN TXWY P. APCHING TXWY E; TWR TOLD US TO KEEP TAXI SPD UP TO CROSS RWY 11 ON TXWY P AND THE ACFT ON RWY 22L WOULD HOLD POS; CAUTION JET BLAST. ABOUT THIS TIME; THE ENGINEER SAID HE HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONTACT OUR GND HANDLER. THE FO MADE A COMMENT AND I HEARD; ON THE RADIO AT THE SAME TIME; WHAT I THOUGHT WAS MY CALL SIGN. ACR A TO CROSS AT NEXT TXWY AND THE ACFT WAS HOLDING IN POS. I WAS APCHING TXWY G THAT CROSSED RWY 22R. I TURNED L AND CROSSED RWY 22R. BEFORE I COULD ANSWER TWR AND I HAD ALREADY INITIATED THE TURN; I HEARD AN ACR B ACKNOWLEDGE TO CROSS. I LOOKED L (DOWN RWY 22R) AND THEN REALIZED THAT I HAD MISHEARD THE ACR A VERSUS ACR B. I RELAYED MY CONCERN TO THE TWR THAT I HAD MISINTERPRETED HIS INSTRUCTIONS. THE FEW SECONDS OF COCKPIT VERSUS RADIO CHATTER HELPED CAUSE THE SIT. THE SIMILARITY OF ACR A AND ACR B HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROB SINCE WE BEGAN SVC USING THE CALL SIGN. I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE FO HADN'T HEARD THE CLRNC THAT I THOUGHT WAS FOR US. HE WAS CHKING THE ARPT CHART FOR OUR PARKING AT A REMOTE AREA AND HAD HIS HEAD DOWN MOMENTARILY WHEN I BEGAN THE TURN AT TXWY G TO CROSS RWY 22R. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF MULTIPLE SMALL INSTANCES OF HOW SOME OF THE COCKPIT DUTIES AND NORMAL SEQUENCES OF RECHKING; PARKING; TXWYS; ETC; CAN SOMETIMES LEAD TO A LACK OF ALL CREW MEMBERS AWARE 100% OF THE TIME.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.