An air carrier crew misunderstood a mmsd controllers command to 'taxi to runway 16' because they wer...

Narrative:

We taxied up and held short of runway 16 in mmsd. We finished the before takeoff checklist to the final items and I turned the transponder to traffic to help clear for traffic. I then notified tower we were ready for takeoff 16. What we thought we heard was something along the lines of 'taxi onto 16 and hold; traffic on 10 mile final.' I checked final and the TCAS and saw nothing on either and responded with 'roger; taxi into position and hold 16.' we started moving forward for several seconds and got past the hold short line but still well short of the runway when tower said 'air carrier X; hold short runway 16; traffic on 3 mile final.' he said it very calmly and threw both the captain and I for a loop. The captain immediately stopped the jet and we saw the lights of the traffic several miles out on final and appear suddenly on TCAS. I verified that we had been cleared into position and hold previously and tower said 'negative; cleared to hold short of runway.' the civilian business jet landed without incident and we were still well clear of the runway; and then we were cleared for 'line up and wait 16.' that is when I realized that; of course; they would use ICAO terminology; not us terminology. The best the captain and I could figure out when we discussed it later airborne was that he said something like 'taxi to hold short position 16; traffic (??) mile final.' because we were already at the hold short line and stopped when we called 'ready' and got this reply; I keyed on words like 'taxi'; 'hold'; 'position'; and '16'. This was such a classic gotcha. Language problem; non standard phraseology for holding short by the controller; no correction of our readback; and no traffic on the TCAS or visible to us when we began to move to take the runway. Huge lesson learned! Query the controller if unsure what they said; and listen for standard phraseology for taking the runway; which should be ICAO outside of the us an incursion on a severe clear day can; and I see does; happen.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier crew misunderstood a MMSD Controllers command to 'Taxi to Runway 16' because they were at the hold short line and began to taxi onto the runway before ATC commanded hold short for traffic on short final.

Narrative: We taxied up and held short of Runway 16 in MMSD. We finished the before takeoff checklist to the final items and I turned the transponder to TFC to help clear for traffic. I then notified Tower we were ready for takeoff 16. What we thought we heard was something along the lines of 'taxi onto 16 and hold; traffic on 10 mile final.' I checked final and the TCAS and saw nothing on either and responded with 'Roger; taxi into position and hold 16.' We started moving forward for several seconds and got past the hold short line but still well short of the runway when Tower said 'Air Carrier X; hold short Runway 16; traffic on 3 mile final.' He said it very calmly and threw both the Captain and I for a loop. The Captain immediately stopped the jet and we saw the lights of the traffic several miles out on final and appear suddenly on TCAS. I verified that we had been cleared into position and hold previously and Tower said 'Negative; cleared to hold short of runway.' The civilian business jet landed without incident and we were still well clear of the runway; and then we were cleared for 'Line up and wait 16.' That is when I realized that; of course; they would use ICAO terminology; not U.S. terminology. The best the Captain and I could figure out when we discussed it later airborne was that he said something like 'Taxi to hold short position 16; traffic (??) mile final.' Because we were already at the hold short line and stopped when we called 'ready' and got this reply; I keyed on words like 'taxi'; 'hold'; 'position'; and '16'. This was such a classic gotcha. Language problem; non standard phraseology for holding short by the controller; no correction of our readback; and no traffic on the TCAS or visible to us when we began to move to take the runway. Huge lesson learned! Query the controller if unsure what they said; and listen for standard phraseology for taking the runway; which should be ICAO outside of the U.S. An incursion on a severe clear day can; and I see does; happen.

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.

Attributes
ACN	899377
Time
Date	201007
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	MMSD.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 210 Flight Crew Total 10600 Flight Crew Type 280
Person 2
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 24000 Flight Crew Type 9000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Incursion Runway

An air carrier crew misunderstood a mmsd controllers command to 'taxi to runway 16' because they were at the hold short line and began to taxi onto the runway before ATC commanded hold short for traffic on short final.