Narrative:

Abq has requested a waiver that allows us to tiph at the intersection of runway's 12/08 with positions combined. This request has been stalled at FAA headquarters level for years! It's still there now. Aircraft X was a very unfamiliar pilot. He required a great deal of assistance when he arrived earlier that night. When he called for taxi outbound; he informed me that he was unfamiliar; and I treated him with the utmost care on ground control/local control combined; taxing him to runway 08. When he called ready to depart; I felt that it was unsafe to clear him for takeoff without 'position and hold' to ensure that he lined-up on the correct runway. The approach end of runway 08 and 12 are very confusing to even experienced pilots. So against our tiph rule; I taxied him into position on runway 08. There was no other traffic in the area. The pilot slowly pulled across runway 12; but became confused; and ended-up lining-up on a 45 degree angle across the runway and stopped. Controllers on clearance delivery; radar and several trainees in the cab were all watching; as we were all concerned. Eventually; and with some coaching; aircraft X lined-up correctly; and departed VFR without incident. So once again; a controller had to break a rule for safety. Controllers and management at abq have been fighting this issue together for years; but the bureaucracy of this agency is impenetrable. Meanwhile; controllers have to hang their jobs on the line; to get around unsafe circumstances like this; and keep safety first.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ABQ Tower Controller described a violation of the FAA TIPH policy when he/she issued a TIPH clearance to insure an unfamiliar pilot was lining up with the correct runway.

Narrative: ABQ has requested a waiver that allows us to TIPH at the intersection of Runway's 12/08 with positions combined. This request has been stalled at FAA headquarters level for YEARS! It's still there now. Aircraft X was a very unfamiliar pilot. He required a great deal of assistance when he arrived earlier that night. When he called for taxi outbound; he informed me that he was unfamiliar; and I treated him with the utmost care on GC/LC combined; taxing him to RWY 08. When he called ready to depart; I felt that it was unsafe to clear him for takeoff without 'position and hold' to ensure that he lined-up on the correct runway. The approach end of RWY 08 and 12 are very confusing to even experienced pilots. So against our TIPH rule; I taxied him into position on RWY 08. There was no other traffic in the area. The pilot slowly pulled across RWY 12; but became confused; and ended-up lining-up on a 45 degree angle across the runway and stopped. Controllers on CD; Radar and several trainees in the cab were all watching; as we were all concerned. Eventually; and with some coaching; Aircraft X lined-up correctly; and departed VFR without incident. So once again; a Controller had to break a rule for safety. Controllers and management at ABQ have been fighting this issue together for years; but the bureaucracy of this agency is impenetrable. Meanwhile; controllers have to hang their jobs on the line; to get around unsafe circumstances like this; and keep SAFETY FIRST.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.