Narrative:

After push-back and contact of ground control at C6 we were assigned taxi instructions to taxi to 24L via right turn on taxiway charlie and hold short C7. Before reaching C7 ground control gave further instructions to turn left C7; right taxiway bravo; right C8 and left to proceed on bravo hold short taxiway papa. Before reaching taxiway papa we were instructed to proceed on taxiway charlie; right turn taxiway sierra; left turn tango 1; and right turn on taxiway tango for north route taxi to the north complex. While still taxing west along taxiway charlie and looking for sierra both visually and referring to our 10-9 chart; we were advised that we passed sierra and to make three left turns on taxiways tango; bravo; and sierra to re-join the previously assigned routing. We complied and re-joined sierra without further complications. Upon reaching sierra both myself and the captain confirmed that there is no visible signage or markings identifying taxiway sierra. Lack of obvious signage or markings identifying taxiway sierra and some confusion as this instruction is unusual for transition to the north complex. This event occurred late in the afternoon with low sun angle and some haze causing strong glare in the direction of the assigned turn. Taxiway sierra is poorly marked and appears as a ramp area for heavy aircraft. This coupled with the unusual taxi instruction could easily lead other crews to make the same error. In addition to improved signage; it is my opinion that a memorandum should be issued to raise flight crew awareness of this potential confusion.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Commercial fixed wing pilot reported a taxiway incursion due to poor signage and pavement markings at LAX.

Narrative: After push-back and contact of Ground Control at C6 we were assigned taxi instructions to taxi to 24L via right turn on taxiway Charlie and hold short C7. Before reaching C7 Ground Control gave further instructions to turn left C7; right Taxiway Bravo; right C8 and left to proceed on Bravo hold short taxiway Papa. Before reaching taxiway Papa we were instructed to proceed on taxiway Charlie; right turn taxiway Sierra; left turn Tango 1; and right turn on taxiway Tango for North Route Taxi to the North Complex. While still taxing west along taxiway Charlie and looking for Sierra both visually and referring to our 10-9 chart; we were advised that we passed Sierra and to make three left turns on taxiways Tango; Bravo; and Sierra to re-join the previously assigned routing. We complied and re-joined Sierra without further complications. Upon reaching Sierra both myself and the Captain confirmed that there is no visible signage or markings identifying taxiway Sierra. Lack of obvious signage or markings identifying taxiway Sierra and some confusion as this instruction is unusual for transition to the North Complex. This event occurred late in the afternoon with low sun angle and some haze causing strong glare in the direction of the assigned turn. Taxiway Sierra is poorly marked and appears as a ramp area for heavy aircraft. This coupled with the unusual taxi instruction could easily lead other crews to make the same error. In addition to improved signage; it is my opinion that a memorandum should be issued to raise flight crew awareness of this potential confusion.

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.