Narrative:

We were informed by ground there was a hold on traffic over eliot intersection for our lga-iad flight, it would be about 12-15 mins, so the ground controller had it in mind to put us in an uncongested taxiway at lga. We thought she was putting us in sequence behind other aircraft. We taxied out of spot xx and followed taxiway M. Ground controller gave us a series of alphabet letters to follow. We found ourselves on taxiway B. We queried ground as to where they wanted us. She said, 'ok. Let me find you...you took 2 wrong turns?' right on taxiway M, left on taxiway B, at taxiway north hold for MD80, right on taxiway north, right on taxiway a, etc, etc, etc. I believe a few things happened here. First, I may have written down the wrong letters, was unfamiliar with lga and assumed the captain who was taxiing was familiar. Also, ground did not actually see us, otherwise she wouldn't have said 'let me find you.' the txwys were very congested and instead of passing behind the MD80, we followed. Also, I did not communicate with the captain, as I was under the impression that he heard me read it back (by rote, not understanding), but he understood as he was familiar with lga. Lastly, taxiway M is a high speed turnoff for runway 13/31 and turns into a ramp-parallel taxiway. Perhaps it should be renamed (south of taxiway B) taxiway MM, taxiway ma, or something to discern, so lefts aren't right turns, and taxiing is clrer. Also, ground should always use cardinal directions, ie, east on taxiway B (right on taxiway bravo), south on taxiway north (right on taxiway north), etc. The end result of the situation was no harm done, we taxied where she wanted us, waited for our release, and were on our way. Through slow clarification and communication, the situation was remedied.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DEHAVILLAND DASH 8 FLC DID NOT FOLLOW A LONG AND COMPLEX CLRNC ON TAXI OUT OF LGA.

Narrative: WE WERE INFORMED BY GND THERE WAS A HOLD ON TFC OVER ELIOT INTXN FOR OUR LGA-IAD FLT, IT WOULD BE ABOUT 12-15 MINS, SO THE GND CTLR HAD IT IN MIND TO PUT US IN AN UNCONGESTED TXWY AT LGA. WE THOUGHT SHE WAS PUTTING US IN SEQUENCE BEHIND OTHER ACFT. WE TAXIED OUT OF SPOT XX AND FOLLOWED TXWY M. GND CTLR GAVE US A SERIES OF ALPHABET LETTERS TO FOLLOW. WE FOUND OURSELVES ON TXWY B. WE QUERIED GND AS TO WHERE THEY WANTED US. SHE SAID, 'OK. LET ME FIND YOU...YOU TOOK 2 WRONG TURNS?' R ON TXWY M, L ON TXWY B, AT TXWY N HOLD FOR MD80, R ON TXWY N, R ON TXWY A, ETC, ETC, ETC. I BELIEVE A FEW THINGS HAPPENED HERE. FIRST, I MAY HAVE WRITTEN DOWN THE WRONG LETTERS, WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH LGA AND ASSUMED THE CAPT WHO WAS TAXIING WAS FAMILIAR. ALSO, GND DID NOT ACTUALLY SEE US, OTHERWISE SHE WOULDN'T HAVE SAID 'LET ME FIND YOU.' THE TXWYS WERE VERY CONGESTED AND INSTEAD OF PASSING BEHIND THE MD80, WE FOLLOWED. ALSO, I DID NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THE CAPT, AS I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT HE HEARD ME READ IT BACK (BY ROTE, NOT UNDERSTANDING), BUT HE UNDERSTOOD AS HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH LGA. LASTLY, TXWY M IS A HIGH SPD TURNOFF FOR RWY 13/31 AND TURNS INTO A RAMP-PARALLEL TXWY. PERHAPS IT SHOULD BE RENAMED (S OF TXWY B) TXWY MM, TXWY MA, OR SOMETHING TO DISCERN, SO LEFTS AREN'T RIGHT TURNS, AND TAXIING IS CLRER. ALSO, GND SHOULD ALWAYS USE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, IE, E ON TXWY B (R ON TXWY BRAVO), S ON TXWY N (R ON TXWY N), ETC. THE END RESULT OF THE SIT WAS NO HARM DONE, WE TAXIED WHERE SHE WANTED US, WAITED FOR OUR RELEASE, AND WERE ON OUR WAY. THROUGH SLOW CLARIFICATION AND COM, THE SIT WAS REMEDIED.

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.