Local controller described an aborted takeoff event when an aircraft was issued 'line up and wait' r...

Narrative:

I was the local controller [when] aircraft X called ready for departure while aircraft Y; flight of two yaks; were landing after their overhead maneuver. I told aircraft X; 'runway xxr line up and wait; traffic crossing down field.' aircraft X read back; 'looking for traffic;' and started passed the hold bars. I then crossed aircraft Y at taxiway echo and told them to contact ground. When I scanned back towards the arrival end I saw aircraft X rolling down the runway at approximately 30 KTS. I immediately told aircraft X to abort and then I noticed the aircraft slowing down without saying anything. Right as I begun to abort his takeoff; the controller in charge asked; 'what is that guy doing?' I looked back at the end of the runway where yaks were given permission to cross and luckily they had both remained in place and had not crossed the hold short bar. I assume they saw the aircraft starting to takeoff. Once I saw aircraft X turn off at the midfield runway exit; charlie; I then restated the crossing clearance to the yak flight. The controller in charge allowed me to taxi the aircraft back for departure on a local VFR flight and when he got back to the end of the runway I asked if they were familiar with luaw phraseology. They replied affirmative; [but] they thought they were cleared to go. The event happened due to the pilot and controller not being on the same page; incomplete read back; pilot awareness for not processing being told that aircraft will be crossing down field; and also for not processing my clearance for a flight to cross the runway that he thought he was cleared to go on. Recommendation; in the future if I have a flight of two or more landing I will wait until all aircraft in the flight are grouped together before any ground movement instructions are issued. This may have caused confusion to the pilot of aircraft X. Also; I will ensure that there is no doubt that I know the pilot will be lining up and waiting. Even though the pilot read back 'looking for traffic' and I would not expect an aircraft to takeoff after reading back something like that; I will make sure that when it comes to runway safety; read backs are verbatim.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Local Controller described an aborted takeoff event when an aircraft was issued 'Line Up And Wait' reference a down field crossing; but initiated a takeoff. The reporter indicated the fact that a flight of two were crossing may have contributed to the confusion.

Narrative: I was the Local Controller [when] aircraft X called ready for departure while aircraft Y; flight of two Yaks; were landing after their overhead maneuver. I told aircraft X; 'Runway XXR line up and wait; traffic crossing down field.' Aircraft X read back; 'Looking for traffic;' and started passed the hold bars. I then crossed aircraft Y at Taxiway Echo and told them to contact Ground. When I scanned back towards the arrival end I saw aircraft X rolling down the runway at approximately 30 KTS. I immediately told aircraft X to abort and then I noticed the aircraft slowing down without saying anything. Right as I begun to abort his takeoff; the CIC asked; 'What is that guy doing?' I looked back at the end of the runway where Yaks were given permission to cross and luckily they had both remained in place and had not crossed the hold short bar. I assume they saw the aircraft starting to takeoff. Once I saw aircraft X turn off at the midfield runway exit; Charlie; I then restated the crossing clearance to the Yak flight. The CIC allowed me to taxi the aircraft back for departure on a local VFR flight and when he got back to the end of the runway I asked if they were familiar with LUAW phraseology. They replied affirmative; [but] they thought they were cleared to go. The event happened due to the pilot and Controller not being on the same page; incomplete read back; pilot awareness for not processing being told that aircraft will be crossing down field; and also for not processing my clearance for a flight to cross the runway that he thought he was cleared to go on. Recommendation; in the future if I have a flight of two or more landing I will wait until all aircraft in the flight are grouped together before any ground movement instructions are issued. This may have caused confusion to the pilot of aircraft X. Also; I will ensure that there is no doubt that I know the pilot will be lining up and waiting. Even though the pilot read back 'looking for traffic' and I would not expect an aircraft to takeoff after reading back something like that; I will make sure that when it comes to runway safety; read backs are verbatim.

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	950746
Time
Date	201105
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Military Trainer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Taxi
Route In Use	None
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Critical Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Incursion Runway

Local controller described an aborted takeoff event when an aircraft was issued 'line up and wait' reference a down field crossing; but initiated a takeoff. The reporter indicated the fact that a flight of two were crossing may have contributed to the confusion.