Air carrier pilot reports confusion after being cleared to taxi via A4 left on a in very low visibil...

Narrative:

Very low visibilities. Deicing operations in effect due to heavy fog and freezing temps. Visibility was 2 aircraft lengths at most in many areas. After deicing on RWY5 west pad short of B; we were cleared to turn right on A4 and call ground control. Ground advised us to turn left on a and hold short of G. This is not a pure 90 degree left turn; it involves two 45 degree left turns. We looked for airport signage to assist us and there was none. We almost taxied onto the cargo ramp but decided to make a harder left turn looking for verification of taxiway a; again there was none. There needs to be a sign there indicating A5 cargo 45 degrees right and a 45 degrees left at that intersection. The next a sign we saw was down by A6. That is too far in a low visibility situation. Lack of proper; helpful signage. Yes there are a thousand signs on the airport; but there needs to be one at this intersection.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier pilot reports confusion after being cleared to taxi via A4 left on A in very low visibility conditions. The intersection of A with A5 is the cause of the confusion with the reporter being unsure which way to turn.

Narrative: Very low visibilities. Deicing operations in effect due to heavy fog and freezing temps. Visibility was 2 aircraft lengths at most in many areas. After deicing on RWY5 west pad short of B; we were cleared to turn right on A4 and call Ground Control. Ground advised us to turn left on A and hold short of G. This is not a pure 90 degree left turn; it involves two 45 degree left turns. We looked for airport signage to assist us and there was none. We almost taxied onto the cargo ramp but decided to make a harder left turn looking for verification of taxiway A; again there was none. There needs to be a sign there indicating A5 Cargo 45 degrees right and A 45 degrees left at that intersection. The next A sign we saw was down by A6. That is too far in a low visibility situation. Lack of proper; helpful signage. Yes there are a thousand signs on the airport; but there needs to be one at this intersection.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1232834
Time
Date	201501
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	CLT.Airport
State Reference	NC
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Air carrier pilot reports confusion after being cleared to taxi via A4 left on a in very low visibility conditions. The intersection of a with A5 is the cause of the confusion with the reporter being unsure which way to turn.