Narrative:

As an medium large transport captain, I have been uncertain on more than one occasion about my location on an airport because of confusing, inadequate or poorly lighted signs. It's also easy to misunderstand the controllers' clrncs because they usually assume you are familiar with the airport and local environment and therefore 'automatically' understand what they mean. One particularly confusing area that has bothered me for sometime is that I have always thought that only runways should have numbers and only taxiway should have letters, as in runway 24 or taxiway 'left'. At several airports, however txwys not only have numbers, they have the same numbers as adjacent runways! For example, at dfw, there is a runway 31 and a taxiway 31; at ont, ca, there is a runway 26 and a taxiway 26; at lax, there is a runway 25 and a taxiway 25; and at oak, there is a runway 9 and a taxiway 9. The only time a runway should have a letter associated with it is when there are left, right, or center parallel runways at an airport, as in, for example, runways 24L and 24R at lax and runways 3L, 3C and 3R at dtw. I believe there is great potential at these airports for misunderstanding taxi clrncs with the additional possibility of runway incursions because of the resulting confusion. One other comment: I don't know where or how it got started, but more and more ground and en route air traffic controllers are using the word 'instructions' when they mean 'clearance.' I have heard his used in the context of both 'taxi instructions' and 'holding instructions'. A case in point is the phrase, 'I have taxi instructions for you.' I was always taught that pilots respond to ATC clrncs, not instructions. I know what at ATC 'clearance' is; I don't know what ATC 'instructions' are!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ACR CAPT'S COMPLAINT ABOUT THE USE OF NUMBERS TO DESIGNATE TXWYS INSTEAD OF LETTERS AND HIS ALLEGATION THAT CTLRS USE OF THE WORD INSTRUCTION WHEN THEY SHOULD USE CLRNC.

Narrative: AS AN MLG CAPT, I HAVE BEEN UNCERTAIN ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION ABOUT MY LOCATION ON AN ARPT BECAUSE OF CONFUSING, INADEQUATE OR POORLY LIGHTED SIGNS. IT'S ALSO EASY TO MISUNDERSTAND THE CTLRS' CLRNCS BECAUSE THEY USUALLY ASSUME YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE ARPT AND LCL ENVIRONMENT AND THEREFORE 'AUTOMATICALLY' UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEAN. ONE PARTICULARLY CONFUSING AREA THAT HAS BOTHERED ME FOR SOMETIME IS THAT I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT ONLY RWYS SHOULD HAVE NUMBERS AND ONLY TXWY SHOULD HAVE LETTERS, AS IN RWY 24 OR TXWY 'L'. AT SEVERAL ARPTS, HOWEVER TXWYS NOT ONLY HAVE NUMBERS, THEY HAVE THE SAME NUMBERS AS ADJACENT RWYS! FOR EXAMPLE, AT DFW, THERE IS A RWY 31 AND A TXWY 31; AT ONT, CA, THERE IS A RWY 26 AND A TXWY 26; AT LAX, THERE IS A RWY 25 AND A TXWY 25; AND AT OAK, THERE IS A RWY 9 AND A TXWY 9. THE ONLY TIME A RWY SHOULD HAVE A LETTER ASSOCIATED WITH IT IS WHEN THERE ARE LEFT, RIGHT, OR CENTER PARALLEL RWYS AT AN ARPT, AS IN, FOR EXAMPLE, RWYS 24L AND 24R AT LAX AND RWYS 3L, 3C AND 3R AT DTW. I BELIEVE THERE IS GREAT POTENTIAL AT THESE ARPTS FOR MISUNDERSTANDING TAXI CLRNCS WITH THE ADDITIONAL POSSIBILITY OF RWY INCURSIONS BECAUSE OF THE RESULTING CONFUSION. ONE OTHER COMMENT: I DON'T KNOW WHERE OR HOW IT GOT STARTED, BUT MORE AND MORE GND AND ENRTE AIR TFC CTLRS ARE USING THE WORD 'INSTRUCTIONS' WHEN THEY MEAN 'CLRNC.' I HAVE HEARD HIS USED IN THE CONTEXT OF BOTH 'TAXI INSTRUCTIONS' AND 'HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS'. A CASE IN POINT IS THE PHRASE, 'I HAVE TAXI INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU.' I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT PLTS RESPOND TO ATC CLRNCS, NOT INSTRUCTIONS. I KNOW WHAT AT ATC 'CLRNC' IS; I DON'T KNOW WHAT ATC 'INSTRUCTIONS' ARE!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.