A crew entering the cargo ramp at night nearly turned onto the old taxiway bb because the taxiway si...

Narrative:

While taxiing on Q to the cargo ramp initiated early turn at apparent entrance to bb. [I] stopped aircraft when questioned by first officer. [I] was not sure if I could power out without contacting taxi lights; so called ramp personnel for tug. [We were] towed in without incident. No damage to any equipment; no disruption to ATC. NOTAM was read prior to flight; however; during flight the review of the parking diagram for the cargo ramp at ord included depiction of straight taxi into bb. The graphic created an expectation in my mind that we would taxi straight into bb. When we arrived at the old bb exit there appeared to be a centerline. There was also an airport sign with bb that made it appear that there was a taxiway there. Finally; the old bb taxi lane ground painting is still visible. All three of these factors made me think I was turning into a taxiway. Because of the experience base of pilots having flown into ord in the previous configuration; the closed section of bb should be painted with yellow cross-hatch to overcome the other factors and prevent someone from turning in again. The airport diagram for ord needs immediate attention to depict the real configuration.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A crew entering the cargo ramp at night nearly turned onto the old Taxiway BB because the taxiway signage was located near the old taxiway and there were no Xs painted on the old taxiway indicating it was closed.

Narrative: While taxiing on Q to the cargo ramp initiated early turn at apparent entrance to BB. [I] stopped aircraft when questioned by First Officer. [I] was not sure if I could power out without contacting taxi lights; so called ramp personnel for tug. [We were] towed in without incident. No damage to any equipment; no disruption to ATC. NOTAM was read prior to flight; however; during flight the review of the parking diagram for the cargo ramp at ORD included depiction of straight taxi into BB. The graphic created an expectation in my mind that we would taxi straight into BB. When we arrived at the old BB exit there appeared to be a centerline. There was also an airport sign with BB that made it appear that there was a taxiway there. Finally; the old BB taxi lane ground painting is still visible. All three of these factors made me think I was turning into a taxiway. Because of the experience base of pilots having flown into ORD in the previous configuration; the closed section of BB should be painted with yellow cross-hatch to overcome the other factors and prevent someone from turning in again. The airport diagram for ORD needs immediate attention to depict the real configuration.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1130184
Time
Date	201311
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ORD.Airport
State Reference	IL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Widebody Transport
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Aircraft Furnishing
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Commercial
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Incursion Taxiway

A crew entering the cargo ramp at night nearly turned onto the old taxiway bb because the taxiway signage was located near the old taxiway and there were no xs painted on the old taxiway indicating it was closed.