Narrative:

While working local east 1; I cleared aircraft abcd to land on runway 35C and subsequently cleared aircraft abch to land on runway 35C. Several departures were waiting to take off on runway 35L; so I elected to hold aircraft abcd & aircraft abch short of runway 35L at taxiway ek. As aircraft abch exited runway 35C; I cleared the aircraft to cross runway 35L and to contact ground control. On my 'arrival pad'; I had written down both call signs of aircraft abcd & aircraft abch; but confused the call signs in my mind after clearing both to cross. As the first 'echelon' of arrivals crossed runway 35L; aircraft abch was still short of runway 35L when I cleared aircraft Z for takeoff. Aircraft abch immediately questioned me; 'did you want aircraft abch to hold short of runway 35L'; to which I replied 'affirmative' then 'aircraft abch; just to verify; hold short of runway 35L -- all while aircraft Z was commencing takeoff roll. Aircraft abch held short of runway 35L; and I then crossed him after aircraft Z had departed.first of all; I should have noted the similar call signs of aircraft abcd & aircraft abch. Second; I should have never had 2 similar call signs holding short of the same runway at the same intersection--this could contribute to confusion on my part; the flight crew's part; & ground control's part as they cross the runway in tandem. I was so busy getting 'into a rhythm' that I completely forgot that I had marked aircraft abch as an aircraft to which I had issued crossing instructions. After the incident had transpired; I was super cautious about everything...which is *exactly* what I should have been doing in the first place!!!!! This incident was unsettling and frightening when I considered it after the fact -- and I requested to be relieved from position to file this report. **Be careful; be careful; be careful** is what I will be doing in the future and certainly not prioritize my 'rhythm' over the responsibility of safely separating traffic

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DFW Controller reported a similar call sign incident that led to an erroneous runway crossing clearance.

Narrative: While working Local East 1; I cleared Aircraft ABCD to land on Runway 35C and subsequently cleared Aircraft ABCH to land on Runway 35C. Several departures were waiting to take off on Runway 35L; so I elected to hold Aircraft ABCD & Aircraft ABCH short of Runway 35L at Taxiway EK. As Aircraft ABCH exited Runway 35C; I cleared the aircraft to cross Runway 35L and to contact ground control. On my 'arrival pad'; I had written down both call signs of Aircraft ABCD & Aircraft ABCH; but confused the call signs in my mind after clearing both to cross. As the first 'echelon' of arrivals crossed Runway 35L; Aircraft ABCH was still short of Runway 35L when I cleared Aircraft Z for takeoff. Aircraft ABCH immediately questioned me; 'Did you want Aircraft ABCH to hold short of Runway 35L'; to which I replied 'Affirmative' then 'Aircraft ABCH; just to verify; Hold Short of Runway 35L -- all while Aircraft Z was commencing takeoff roll. Aircraft ABCH held short of Runway 35L; and I then crossed him after Aircraft Z had departed.First of all; I should have noted the similar call signs of Aircraft ABCD & Aircraft ABCH. Second; I should have NEVER had 2 similar call signs holding short of the same runway at the same intersection--this could contribute to confusion on my part; the flight crew's part; & ground control's part as they cross the runway in tandem. I was so busy getting 'into a rhythm' that I completely forgot that I had marked Aircraft ABCH as an aircraft to which I had issued crossing instructions. After the incident had transpired; I was super cautious about EVERYTHING...which is *exactly* what I should have been doing in the first place!!!!! This incident was unsettling and frightening when I considered it after the fact -- and I requested to be relieved from position to file this report. **Be careful; be careful; be careful** is what I will be doing in the future and certainly not prioritize my 'rhythm' over the responsibility of safely separating 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.