Narrative:

We were instructed to exit runway 35R at taxiway D5 instead of taxiway D4. We were instructed to taxi via D5 to P taxiway. The taxiway D5 was clear of snow at the runway turn off; but was obscured with 3-5 inches of snow at the intersection of D5 and D taxiway. Taxiway P was completely obscured with snow and taxiway D had been plowed and was contaminated with a thin layer of ice and snow. Taxiway D5 makes a 30-45 left turn at the intersection of D5 and D taxiway; and then continues for approximately 60 feet until it intersects with taxiway P. We mistakenly turned right onto delta taxiway off of taxiway D5 because it had been plowed and the taxiway lines were visible and could be followed. Had we taxied as instructed; we would have had to taxi through 3-5 inches of unplowed snow with no visible cues as to where the taxi lines were or if we were on the concrete taxiway or not. We took the safest course of action and in doing so; failed to follow the controller's taxi instructions. The entire airport was a sea of white with blue lights and poor airfield markings due the heavy snow that had fallen. The ground controllers were truly unaware of the field conditions around the airport and were instructing other aircraft to follow hazardous taxi routes. This was apparent as other pilots were refusing the obscured taxi routings as well.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air crew was not able to see cleared taxiway exit point off of runway during landing rollout due to snow conditions.

Narrative: We were instructed to exit Runway 35R at Taxiway D5 instead of Taxiway D4. We were instructed to taxi via D5 to P Taxiway. The Taxiway D5 was clear of snow at the runway turn off; but was obscured with 3-5 inches of snow at the intersection of D5 and D taxiway. Taxiway P was completely obscured with snow and Taxiway D had been plowed and was contaminated with a thin layer of ice and snow. Taxiway D5 makes a 30-45 left turn at the intersection of D5 and D taxiway; and then continues for approximately 60 feet until it intersects with Taxiway P. We mistakenly turned right onto Delta Taxiway off of Taxiway D5 because it had been plowed and the taxiway lines were visible and could be followed. Had we taxied as instructed; we would have had to taxi through 3-5 inches of unplowed snow with no visible cues as to where the taxi lines were or if we were on the concrete taxiway or not. We took the safest course of action and in doing so; failed to follow the Controller's taxi instructions. The entire airport was a sea of white with blue lights and poor airfield markings due the heavy snow that had fallen. The Ground Controllers were truly unaware of the field conditions around the airport and were instructing other aircraft to follow hazardous taxi routes. This was apparent as other Pilots were refusing the obscured taxi routings as well.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.