Narrative:

We were parked at the gate in phl. I was the first officer and pilot not flying on the flight. Neither of us had operated in phl frequently. We had not received a pre departure clearance and contacted phl clearance by radio and were given a new supplemental route full clearance which we copied; set and verified in the FMS. During the briefing we planned for a taxi to 27L probably via south on M or north; crossing runway 27R. Ramp control cleared us to push nose facing east. After disconnect from the tug; ramp control instructed us to taxi to spot 11 and contact ground. At spot 11; ground control cleared us to 'taxi to runway 27L via H and east; hold short of runway 27R'; which I read back. Ground then also said contact clearance delivery for new routing. The captain and I both consulted our airport pages and agreed H and east. We both felt east was on the east side of runway 35. This was due to the 'east' of the wording 'elev 9' prominently displayed in the white area at the corner of taxiways H and D (while the rest of the wording of 'elev 9' is entirely in the shaded areas of the taxiways; this effect is more pronounced in the paper charts rather than the backlit electronic chart versions online). As we began our taxi; clearing both directions; I dialed clearance delivery on the #2 radio; told the captain he had radio 1; which he acknowledged; and I prepared to copy another full route clearance. Meanwhile as we approached the intersection of H and runway 35; the captain asked if we were to hold short and began to slow down. I repeated that we were to hold short of runway 27R. He alertly still did not cross the hold short line and radioed ground control asking if we were to hold short of runway 35. The ground controller responded; apparently seeing our position; and said 'hold short runway 35'. Shortly; we observed a business jet landing on runway 35. After that traffic was clear we were instructed to taxi south on runway 35; right turn on south; hold short of runway 27L. We received our new clearance; which was a return to our original clearance given in full for clarity. We set and verified the new clearance in our FMS and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.in my opinion several factors lead to this confusion and miscommunication. Our lack of familiarity with phl contributed. The changes in our routing contributed. Perhaps if these changes could be delivered electronically this would have been less distracting. That said we may have been better served to request holding our position on spot 11; taken the time necessary to update; set; and verify our new clearance (which may have been a considerable amount of time) and then request taxi. The unfortunate placement of the 'east' in 'elev 9'' on the chart contributed significantly. This alone would have prevented our confusion. I highly suggest this be changed as soon as possible as there seems ample room to move the wording to an all-white background area nearby; as is the case with all other runway elevations on the chart. The captain's alertness was excellent. We are both aware of the recent change requiring runway crossing clearances at all runways. However given that this change is less than a year old and we have operated the vast bulk of our careers under the previous rules; it seems hard to notice especially the omitting of a clearance which was for so long naturally omitted. I would like to think that at a minimum when approaching the runway to cross we would have; as always; turned on our lights and cleared both sides; noticing any traffic.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier flight crew; unfamiliar with the airport and confused by the airport page format; deviated from their taxi clearance at PHL. The Captain's familiarity with the rule requiring clearance to cross any runway prevented a runway incursion.

Narrative: We were parked at the gate in PHL. I was the First Officer and pilot not flying on the flight. Neither of us had operated in PHL frequently. We had not received a PDC and contacted PHL Clearance by radio and were given a new Supplemental Route full clearance which we copied; set and verified in the FMS. During the briefing we planned for a taxi to 27L probably via south on M or N; crossing Runway 27R. Ramp Control cleared us to push nose facing east. After disconnect from the tug; Ramp Control instructed us to taxi to Spot 11 and contact Ground. At Spot 11; Ground Control cleared us to 'Taxi to Runway 27L via H and E; hold short of Runway 27R'; which I read back. Ground then also said contact Clearance Delivery for new routing. The Captain and I both consulted our Airport pages and agreed H and E. We both felt E was on the EAST side of Runway 35. This was due to the 'E' of the wording 'Elev 9' prominently displayed in the white area at the corner of Taxiways H and D (while the rest of the wording of 'Elev 9' is entirely in the shaded areas of the taxiways; this effect is more pronounced in the paper charts rather than the backlit electronic chart versions online). As we began our taxi; clearing both directions; I dialed Clearance Delivery on the #2 radio; told the Captain he had Radio 1; which he acknowledged; and I prepared to copy another full route clearance. Meanwhile as we approached the intersection of H and Runway 35; the Captain asked if we were to hold short and began to slow down. I repeated that we were to hold short of Runway 27R. He alertly still did not cross the hold short line and radioed Ground Control asking if we were to hold short of Runway 35. The Ground Controller responded; apparently seeing our position; and said 'Hold Short Runway 35'. Shortly; we observed a business jet landing on Runway 35. After that traffic was clear we were instructed to taxi south on Runway 35; right turn on S; hold short of Runway 27L. We received our new clearance; which was a return to our original clearance given in full for clarity. We set and verified the new clearance in our FMS and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.In my opinion several factors lead to this confusion and miscommunication. Our lack of familiarity with PHL contributed. The changes in our routing contributed. Perhaps if these changes could be delivered electronically this would have been less distracting. That said we may have been better served to request holding our position on Spot 11; taken the time necessary to update; set; and verify our new clearance (which may have been a considerable amount of time) and then request taxi. The unfortunate placement of the 'E' in 'Elev 9'' on the chart contributed significantly. This alone would have prevented our confusion. I highly suggest this be changed ASAP as there seems ample room to move the wording to an all-white background area nearby; as is the case with all other runway elevations on the chart. The Captain's alertness was excellent. We are both aware of the recent change requiring runway crossing clearances at all runways. However given that this change is less than a year old and we have operated the vast bulk of our careers under the previous rules; it seems hard to notice especially the omitting of a clearance which was for so long naturally omitted. I would like to think that at a minimum when approaching the runway to cross we would have; as always; turned on our lights and cleared both sides; noticing any 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.