Air carrier flight crew awaiting departure at mco described a runway incursion event when captain mi...

Narrative:

As we approached the [runway] 17R hold short line; we were aware of an aircraft on about a 5 mile final. The tower controller issued what I thought was a 'line up and wait clearance.' my first officer asked me to stop the aircraft so we could get clarification on the clearance. The tower controller told us that we where to follow traffic departing the 18's. I then realized that I mistook the way she used the phrase '18's' for line up and wait. When I stopped the aircraft; approximately six feet of the nose was over the hold line. I did the professional thing and told the controller about the incursion. She asked another jet if they could accept a landing clearance for 17L and they said no. The controller issued them a go-around clearance; which they complied with. The controller seemed to be rushed and was speaking in a non-indigenous dialect that I am not used to listening to. Next time I will stop and ask the controller to slow down and speak so I can understand the information given. Second; since we were departing 17R I could care less if we were following traffic departing any other runway. The information she gave us did nothing to contribute to safety. The clearance she should have issued; that would have contributed to safety is; 'company flight number hold short of 17R; landing traffic.'

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew awaiting departure at MCO described a runway incursion event when Captain misunderstood the controller's phraseology regarding other traffic.

Narrative: As we approached the [Runway] 17R hold short line; we were aware of an aircraft on about a 5 mile final. The Tower Controller issued what I thought was a 'line up and wait clearance.' My First Officer asked me to stop the aircraft so we could get clarification on the clearance. The Tower Controller told us that we where to follow traffic departing the 18's. I then realized that I mistook the way she used the phrase '18's' for line up and wait. When I stopped the aircraft; approximately six feet of the nose was over the hold line. I did the professional thing and told the Controller about the incursion. She asked another jet if they could accept a landing clearance for 17L and they said no. The Controller issued them a go-around clearance; which they complied with. The Controller seemed to be rushed and was speaking in a non-indigenous dialect that I am not used to listening to. Next time I will stop and ask the Controller to slow down and speak so I can understand the information given. Second; since we were departing 17R I could care less if we were following traffic departing any other runway. The information she gave us did nothing to contribute to safety. The clearance she should have issued; that would have contributed to safety is; 'Company flight number hold short of 17R; landing traffic.'

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	942802
Time
Date	201104
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	MCO.Airport
State Reference	FL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 168 Flight Crew Type 10000
Person 2
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 156 Flight Crew Type 2500
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Incursion Runway

Air carrier flight crew awaiting departure at mco described a runway incursion event when captain misunderstood the controller's phraseology regarding other traffic.