An A320 crew, taxiing for takeoff at pvd, mistook an active runway for a taxiway.

Attributes
ACN	538238
Time
Date	200202
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : pvd.airport
State Reference	RI
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : flight engineer pilot : commercial pilot : cfi pilot : atp pilot : multi engine
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 225 flight time total : 6500 flight time type : 1000
ASRS Report	538238
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Events
Anomaly	incursion : runway non adherence : clearance non adherence : far non adherence : published procedure
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Back taxied onto runway 5L at pvd, an active runway, without clearance mistook it for a taxiway. Were told to taxi txwys T, D, east, and south. I was heads down computing load data and the captain mistook runway 5L for taxiway T and was told by ground we were on runway 5L. We acknowledged and were told to go ahead and taxi on runway 5L to taxiway D. There was no conflict with any other aircraft or vehicle.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN A320 CREW, TAXIING FOR TKOF AT PVD, MISTOOK AN ACTIVE RWY FOR A TXWY.

Narrative: BACK TAXIED ONTO RWY 5L AT PVD, AN ACTIVE RWY, WITHOUT CLRNC MISTOOK IT FOR A TXWY. WERE TOLD TO TAXI TXWYS T, D, E, AND S. I WAS HEADS DOWN COMPUTING LOAD DATA AND THE CAPT MISTOOK RWY 5L FOR TXWY T AND WAS TOLD BY GND WE WERE ON RWY 5L. WE ACKNOWLEDGED AND WERE TOLD TO GO AHEAD AND TAXI ON RWY 5L TO TXWY D. THERE WAS NO CONFLICT WITH ANY OTHER ACFT OR VEHICLE.

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.