DC8 DEP FROM MHT CROSSED RWY HOLD LINE WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

OUR TAXI RTE FOR DEP FROM MHT WAS VIA TXWYS E AND H TO RWY 17. AS WE TAXIED ON TXWY H; AND JUST AFTER WE PASSED TXWY L; I SUDDENLY REALIZED WE WERE BEGINNING TO TAXI ACROSS HOLDING POS MARKINGS. I QUICKLY LOOKED AHEAD FOR OTHER MARKINGS CLOSER TO RWY 17; SINCE WE WERE STILL QUITE A DISTANCE FROM THE RWY. JUST AS MY FO BEGAN TO SAY SOMETHING; THE LCL CTLR XMITTED THAT WE WERE XING THE HOLD LINE. I IMMEDIATELY STOPPED THE ACFT; THE NOSE HAVING GONE APPROX 20 FT PAST THE LINE. I THEN TAXIED THE ACFT IN AN S-TURN TO THE R; REPOSITIONING IT BEHIND THE HOLD LINE. A MIN OR SO LATER; A LIGHT ACFT LANDED ON RWY 17. WE SUBSEQUENTLY DEPARTED RWY 17 UNEVENTFULLY. A NUMBER OF FACTORS WERE PRESENT WHICH I BELIEVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS EVENT: 1) THE RWY HOLD LINE WAS MUCH FARTHER FROM THE RWY THAN IS TYPICAL. I ESTIMATE THE DISTANCE TO HAVE BEEN SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. MY EXPECTATION WAS THAT IT WOULD BE MUCH CLOSER TO THE RWY. 2) I HAVE FLOWN INTO MHT ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS OVER THE PAST FEW YRS AND REMEMBER THE HOLDING POS FOR RWY 17 HAVING BEEN CLOSER TO THE RWY THRESHOLD. MY FO SAID HE ALSO REMEMBERED IT BEING CLOSER TO THE RWY. 3) DURING TAXI; I WAS REFERRING TO THE COMMERCIAL ARPT DIAGRAM; WHICH DEPICTS AN ILS HOLD LINE ON TXWY H JUST BEYOND TXWY L. I EXPECTED TO CROSS AN ILS HOLD LINE AT THIS POINT; BUT INSTEAD CROSSED THE RWY HOLD LINE. NEITHER I NOR MY FO REMEMBER SEEING AN ILS HOLD LINE. 4) THE PAVEMENT AREA IS VERY WIDE BOTH PRIOR TO AND WELL BEYOND THE RWY HOLD LINE; WITH AN ACFT RUN-UP OR HOLDING AREA TO THE R OF THE TXWY. IT WAS MY EXPECTATION THAT THE RWY HOLD LINE WOULD BE BTWN THIS RUN-UP AREA AND THE RWY; RATHER THAN ACROSS THE FIRST PORTION OF THE RUN-UP AREA. THE LESSON I HAVE LEARNED IS TO BE ALERT FOR HOLDING POS MARKINGS THAT MAY BE LOCATED IN PLACES OTHER THAN WHERE I WOULD EXPECT THEM TO BE.