Narrative:

During the descent via on the frnch 3 arrival into denver international airport; ATC issued us holding instructions; 'cleared to skarf intersection; hold left as published; maintain FL220 expect efc.' I read back the instructions as I heard them. ATC accepted my read back. The captain and I reviewed the instructions and at the same time I looked for the hold at skarf. I noted that there was not a published hold on the skarf intersection. The captain was inputting the hold in the FMS; and asked if it was direct to scarf or on arrival course? I stated that I believe we were cleared directly to the fix. We had a check airman in the jumpseat and he stated that no it was not a clearance direct to the fix but just a clearance limit. I called and checked with ATC to clarify the instructions of direct or to continue on the route; at which time he stated 'your choice direct or the arrival route.' the captain choose direct and I informed ATC of our intentions. The captain completed the hold in the FMS with a left turn at skarf and started the decent. I noted to the captain that there was not a hold indicated on the french three arrival at skarf. I now started to question the holding instructions since there was no hold published on the arrival. With the hold coming up fast and on previous flight coming into denver; I had an experience on a northeast arrival gate where we received a clearance to hold as published on a fix on the arrival that was not published and then ATC later stated the hold fix was publish on another arrival. I quickly looked for another arrival with the skarf intersection. At that time; captain asked me to please advise ATC that we were entering the hold. I did. We were working on other matters with the hold when ATC advised another flight into denver to expect holding at skarf and instructed them 'clear to skarf intersection; hold west as published; maintain...' I discussed with captain that I believe I copied our clearance incorrectly and should I inquire to ATC about the left hand hold that we were in. At about that time ATC cleared us direct to a fix on the frnch arrival. After landing and parked at the gate; I reviewed the chart and noticed that I had mistaken the tomsn intersection as the skarf intersection. The tomsn intersection does not have a published hold and I saw the skarf identification just below the tomsn fix star. Incorrectly identifying the fix on the published chart. Allowing task saturation to dictate what was important which was the correct hold. I should have discussed that I was questioning ATC's instructions with the captain before looking for another chart with the published hold. That way he could have reviewed the info double checked the chart and possibly caught my error. Additionally the hold was happening fast; so I needed to slow down and asses the information to ensure we had the correct clearance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-700 flight crew reports entering an incorrect holding pattern at SKARF due to misunderstanding the clearance and the way the arrival chart is laid out.

Narrative: During the descent via on the FRNCH 3 Arrival into Denver International Airport; ATC issued us holding instructions; 'Cleared to SKARF intersection; Hold Left as published; maintain FL220 Expect EFC.' I read back the instructions as I heard them. ATC accepted my read back. The Captain and I reviewed the instructions and at the same time I looked for the hold at SKARF. I noted that there was not a published hold on the SKARF intersection. The Captain was inputting the hold in the FMS; and asked if it was direct to SCARF or on Arrival Course? I stated that I believe we were cleared directly to the fix. We had a check airman in the jumpseat and he stated that no it was not a clearance direct to the fix but just a clearance limit. I called and checked with ATC to clarify the instructions of direct or to continue on the route; at which time he stated 'Your choice direct or the arrival route.' The Captain choose direct and I informed ATC of our intentions. The Captain completed the hold in the FMS with a left turn at SKARF and started the decent. I noted to the Captain that there was not a hold indicated on the French Three Arrival at SKARF. I now started to question the holding instructions since there was no hold published on the arrival. With the hold coming up fast and on previous flight coming into Denver; I had an experience on a Northeast arrival gate where we received a clearance to hold as published on a fix on the arrival that was not published and then ATC later stated the hold fix was publish on another arrival. I quickly looked for another arrival with the SKARF intersection. At that time; Captain asked me to please advise ATC that we were entering the hold. I did. We were working on other matters with the hold when ATC advised another flight into Denver to expect holding at SKARF and instructed them 'Clear to SKARF intersection; Hold West as published; maintain...' I discussed with Captain that I believe I copied our clearance incorrectly and should I inquire to ATC about the LEFT Hand hold that we were in. At about that time ATC cleared us direct to a fix on the FRNCH Arrival. After landing and parked at the gate; I reviewed the chart and noticed that I had mistaken the TOMSN intersection as the SKARF intersection. The TOMSN intersection does not have a published hold and I saw the SKARF ID just below the TOMSN Fix star. Incorrectly identifying the fix on the published chart. Allowing task saturation to dictate what was important which was the correct hold. I should have discussed that I was questioning ATC's instructions with the Captain before looking for another chart with the published hold. That way he could have reviewed the info double checked the chart and possibly caught my error. Additionally the hold was happening fast; so I needed to slow down and asses the information to ensure we had the correct clearance.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.