A B767 crew taxied out from LAX Gateway Cargo parking and crossed the Taxiway B hold short line. There was no obvious signage for Taxiway B and the Runway 25R hold short line is very close by.
Synopsis
A B767 crew taxied out from LAX Gateway Cargo parking and crossed the Taxiway B hold short line. There was no obvious signage for Taxiway B and the Runway 25R hold short line is very close by.
Narrative
We were pushed back from the parking spot at the LAX gateway in the Cargo Area. During the push; our tail was pushed east and then we were pulled forward close to but short of Taxiway B. Engine start sequence was normal; the after start checklist completed and the mechanic was cleared off headset. I asked the First Officer to contact ground for taxi clearance. Ground instructed us to taxi to 25R hold short of Taxiway B and monitor tower. I verified the mechanic with pins was clear; turned on the taxi light and got a forward taxi signal from the marshaller. I called for flaps 15 and released the brakes to ease forward and was looking at the hold short line for 25R while the First Officer went heads down to position the flaps and change the radio to tower frequency. As I was moving forward I sensed something was not right and applied the brakes as the First Officer looked up he said 'hold short of Taxiway B.' We had passed over the hold short line for Taxiway B. The closest aircraft was taxing east on taxiway B; short of F. I then instructed the First Officer to notify tower that we had passed over the hold short line for Taxiway B. Tower then asked a B-757 taxing east on taxiway B for 25R if he could continue on Taxiway B and he said clearance was not a problem. After four more aircraft passed us we were cleared to hold short of 25R and subsequently cleared for a 25R take off. The take off and the remainder of flight were normal. I realize now that I had focused on the hold short line for 25R since it was so close and prominently marked while the hold line for taxiway B was less prominent because it was just barely visible looking out over the nose and there is no sign that identifies Taxiway B. I inadvertently crossed the Taxiway B line by fixating on the 25R hold short line and allowing the aircraft to ease forward and not waiting until the First Officer was heads up so he could back me up and monitor our progress. A crew must remain 100% vigilant at all times and never relax. After this event I recommend that the paint on the B Cargo Area be refreshed and signage for Taxiway B be erected. This would make the demarcation between the B Cargo Area and Taxiway B clearly visible and give crews better visual cues for fixing their position and reduces the chance for recurrence.
Second reporter narrative
After pushback the Captain asked me to contact ground and let them know we were ready to taxi? I called ground and we were asked to hold short of taxiway Bravo (which is just outside the ramp area) and to monitor tower. As I was reading back the clearance the Captain asked for Flaps 15. The ground asked to verify I got the 'hold short of taxiway Bravo' part; which I repeated it and then looked down to switch to tower frequency and to extend Flaps 15 which the Captain had asked for. When I looked up I realized he'd released the brakes and started moving the aircraft so smoothly I hadn't even noticed the aircraft movement. I immediately said 'stop; hold short of Bravo' and was about to step on the brakes when the captain stopped the aircraft. He realized his mistake and asked me to notify the tower we'd crossed Bravo (by ~5-10 feet) which I did. The tower asked the approaching crew if they had enough space to get by us; which they said they did. Five other aircraft took off ahead of us; which was our original sequence; in other words we did not block the taxiway. I've thought about how this could've been prevented and think we should incorporate a procedure here where no aircraft movement should be allowed unless both pilots are looking outside. As a copilot it's very hard to maintain situational awareness while taxing when looking down to switch frequencies; change runways in the FMS (not a factor here); etc. Unless both pilots are actually looking outside I think no Captain should taxi an aircraft. Also; the LAX gateway (or LAX airport) should install a better sign informing the crews where the 'hold short of taxi way Bravo' area begins. The hold short line for the runway is so close to the ramp that the Captain simply focused on the 'wrong' hold short line. An additional sign or hold short line would've helped tremendously in my view.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.