An air carrier crew cleared to taxi on Runway 9/27 from Taxiway 'K' did not hold short of Taxiway 'F' as instructed claiming the Taxiway 'F' signage had been removed. Multiple frequency and runway changes increased the workload and cause distractions.
Synopsis
An air carrier crew cleared to taxi on Runway 9/27 from Taxiway 'K' did not hold short of Taxiway 'F' as instructed claiming the Taxiway 'F' signage had been removed. Multiple frequency and runway changes increased the workload and cause distractions.
Narrative
We were expecting to taxi to 22L. When we called for taxi; Ground told us we were going to 21R; and taxi via Kilo hold short of Q3 (about 300 yards away) and contact another ground frequency. That Controller cleared us to taxi via Kilo then right on 27R hold short of Foxtrot and another ground frequency (about another 500 yards from the previous hold short). Meanwhile; Taxiway F is closed on both sides of 27R and signs that reference Taxiway F have been removed from both sides of 27R. I taxied past F; realizing it shortly after passing it. We held short of G and contacted the next Controller. It was obvious that the hold short instruction was for controller change only; as there were no incursions with traffic (it's impossible for traffic to cross in front before Taxiway G. I knew Taxiway F was closed; but I did still expect to see a sign for it. Something needs to change in DTW. There are entirely too many ground frequency changes in the most difficult areas of the airport. Additionally; Clearance should be issuing aircraft runway assignments in the clearance. There is no doubt that the runway change played a part in this. Overall; I have had to call for the runway change checklist in DTW on average 50% of the time I operate out of DTW; which is about 90% of total times I have called for that checklist. From my perspective; runway assignments seem to be somewhat random. I have operated same city pairs out of DTW and got different runways (east side versus west side) even in the same day. If that is the way the airport needs to operate to be more efficient I understand; but then issue runways during the clearance.
Second reporter narrative
Two days later we came back through DTW and confirmed the reason we believed we missed Foxtrot. Due to construction the Foxtrot sign was either removed or hidden; and either way not visible.Two things might have helped avoid this event; either the sign for the Taxiway could have remained visible (or where it was supposed to be); or/also we (crew) should have not only familiarized ourselves with where we where likely to see the Taxiway sign but also how the landscape would likely appear in case there was no sign.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.