Narrative:

Shortly after taking the position; airport truck called with their position at A5 on the ramp. I was not sure if the vehicle was calling clear of the movement area or making a request so I replied 'airport truck; spokane ground; roger.' airport truck then requested clearance on the movement area to the runway 21 glide slope via taxiway alpha. I responded; 'airport truck; proceed as requested;' thinking that since the vehicle was staging from the middle of the terminal area; they were proceeding across alpha to an infield site. Airport truck responded; 'roger; proceed as requested'. I then had a clearance to give and was about to cut an hourly ATIS when the local controller said; 'did you know they're crossing?' I looked up to see airport truck crossing runway 25. I did not clear them to cross this runway; neither did I hold them short. They did not question the taxi instructions that did not include a crossing or hold short instruction. Local control had traffic on a 2 mile final that was not affected. After finishing their work at the runway 21 glide slope; airport truck requested to cross taxiway a to the perimeter road. This time; specific instructions were given; 'airport truck; cross taxiway alpha to the perimeter road.' recommendation; listen carefully to the request made by the ground vehicle and be aware of where they will be moving. Don't make assumptions based on their initial position on the field. Ground vehicles should make use of the perimeter road as much as possible to avoid crossing the runway. Every runway crossing carries an inherent risk; as was shown here. Airport truck should have called up from the perimeter road across from taxiway a from the runway 21 glide slope building; not other side of an active runway at A5. Ground vehicles should be aware of runway crossing phraseology and restrictions; so when/if a controller makes a mistake; they can ask to verify the instructions.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GEG Controller described an unauthorized runway crossing when clearance issued was apparently confused by an ground vehicle; the reporter suggesting improved vigilance on part of all involved.

Narrative: Shortly after taking the position; Airport Truck called with their position at A5 on the ramp. I was not sure if the vehicle was calling clear of the movement area or making a request so I replied 'Airport Truck; Spokane Ground; ROGER.' Airport Truck then requested clearance on the movement area to the Runway 21 glide slope via Taxiway Alpha. I responded; 'Airport Truck; proceed as requested;' thinking that since the vehicle was staging from the middle of the terminal area; they were proceeding across Alpha to an infield site. Airport Truck responded; 'ROGER; proceed as requested'. I then had a clearance to give and was about to cut an hourly ATIS when the Local Controller said; 'Did you know they're crossing?' I looked up to see Airport Truck crossing Runway 25. I did not clear them to cross this runway; neither did I hold them short. They did not question the taxi instructions that did not include a crossing or hold short instruction. Local Control had traffic on a 2 mile final that was not affected. After finishing their work at the Runway 21 glide slope; Airport Truck requested to cross Taxiway A to the perimeter road. This time; specific instructions were given; 'Airport Truck; cross Taxiway Alpha to the perimeter road.' Recommendation; listen carefully to the request made by the ground vehicle and be aware of where they will be moving. Don't make assumptions based on their initial position on the field. Ground vehicles should make use of the perimeter road as much as possible to avoid crossing the runway. Every runway crossing carries an inherent risk; as was shown here. Airport Truck should have called up from the perimeter road across from Taxiway A from the Runway 21 glide slope building; not other side of an active runway at A5. Ground vehicles should be aware of runway crossing phraseology and restrictions; so when/if a controller makes a mistake; they can ask to verify the instructions.

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.