Narrative:

Initially we were advised by ramp personnel that we would push back and de-ice right by the gate. However; when the clearance was delivered; he informed us that we should taxi out to the north apron for de-ice which is per the request of airport operations anytime there is active precipitation. While taxiing to the north apron we discussed the braking action which was reported; per the notams; and our previous experience as poor. Although poor; we still experienced some braking capability which we discussed was sufficient to continue the taxi. Shortly after entering the north apron; we experienced a loss of all braking action and were actively sliding on the ramp. Although information charlie did not indicate freezing rain; there was active precipitation with a temperature of 1C. When we began sliding; we immediately deployed reverse thrust which arrested the slide. There was a drain area on the de-ice pad which was a low spot in the ramp area. We were able to maneuver the aircraft to a position over or close to the drain and able to stop and regain control of the aircraft. At that point we discussed and made a firm decision that we were not going to continue the flight but needed to return to the gate. An announcement was made to the passengers that for safety reasons and due to the icy conditions of the taxiways that we were going to return to the gate. We contacted operations and requested them to send a tug out to our location so they could tow us back to the gate. Upon arrival of the tug; we communicated with them and specifically asked if they felt there was enough traction to pull us back to the gate. The tug driver; who was also the ramp supervisor; indicated that they did. Additionally; we specifically stated that if he felt any loss of traction whatsoever; that we wanted him to stop immediately and we would come up with another plan. We confirmed nose wheel steering was off and parking brake was off. He then commenced to tug us back to the gate. We moved about 5 feet at which point we all commented that it felt there was traction. Almost immediately after that; the tug lost all traction and both the aircraft and the tug started to slide. The tug jack knifed to the left of the aircraft and we were only able to arrest the slide by again deploying thrust reversers. The aircraft came to rest with the tug adjacent to the main cabin door and the aircraft on taxiway foxtrot just west of taxiway mike. At this point we instructed the ramp personnel to not move or touch anything and we would communicate with them the next course of action.we made a call to maintenance control who advised us to take pictures of the nose gear. Due to the proximity of the tug; we could not open the main cabin door to egress the aircraft and take pictures. The ramp personnel were instructed to take pictures and send them to maintenance control. At this point maintenance control advised that local maintenance was going to come out to the aircraft and that we should not move the aircraft at all. The discrepancy was recorded in the maintenance log book and communicated to maintenance control. We left both engines running because we did not know if the small amount of forward thrust was keeping us from sliding further. Ground control was advised of our situation and had no issue. We contacted dispatch to ensure that they were made aware of our situation. Throughout this whole process announcements were made to the passengers as well as communication with our flight attendant. Updates were given approximately every 15 minutes to the passengers and the mood of the cabin was overall okay. Some passengers were antsy but our flight attendant did a great job of ensuring the passengers were well taken care of and that the cabin was a comfortable temperature. When local maintenance arrived; we requested the ramp personnel to de-ice the area around the landing gear so that the aircraft could be securely chocked and we could shut down both engines. Thede-ice fluid failed to penetrate the layer of ice and a chemical solvent was used to melt the ice enough for us to be securely chocked. During this time we also coordinated with ramp personnel to arrange for vehicles to transport the passengers from our aircraft to the terminal when the main cabin door could be opened. We also asked them to put a de-ice solvent on the ice for passenger safety. When the aircraft was securely chocked; the maintenance and ground personnel were able to remove the tow bar and clear the tug from the aircraft. We completed our appropriate checklists and opened the main cabin door. Passengers were shuttled to the terminal with the assistance of 4 vehicles; including two police vehicles. Each passenger was individually thanked for their patience and apologized to for the inconvenience by the captain. All but one passenger who complained she might miss her cruise seemed understanding with a few even offering thanks for how the situation was handled. When all passengers were safely transported back to the terminal the next task was to get the aircraft back to the gate. Local maintenance advised that the two steering actuators and the sheer pin were broken but no other damage could be seen at that time. We communicated to station personnel that maintenance said the aircraft could be safely towed back into the gate. After lengthy discussion on their part; they determined that it was too icy and they did not want to attempt to tug the aircraft back to the gate. We communicated with maintenance control and advised them of the situation. They asked us to shut down the aircraft and close the main cabin door. Ground control was advised of the aircraft remaining in that location at least overnight. They advised that would not be a problem.station personnel asked if we would give them a statement regarding what happened. I contacted the manager again and was advised that the official statement would come from [company] to their regional managers and to offer no official statement. We ensured bags were offloaded and helped return some of the bags to the passengers when we were back in the terminal. We both inspected the nose gear and aircraft and determined there was no further damage beyond what local maintenance documented. We debriefed as a crew and went to the hotel.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Regional jet flight crew reported losing traction while taxiing to be deiced. A tug was called for assistance; however it lost traction as well and jackknifed into the aircraft causing damage.

Narrative: Initially we were advised by ramp personnel that we would push back and de-ice right by the gate. However; when the clearance was delivered; he informed us that we should taxi out to the North Apron for de-ice which is per the request of airport operations anytime there is active precipitation. While taxiing to the North Apron we discussed the braking action which was reported; per the NOTAMs; and our previous experience as poor. Although poor; we still experienced some braking capability which we discussed was sufficient to continue the taxi. Shortly after entering the North Apron; we experienced a loss of all braking action and were actively sliding on the ramp. Although information Charlie did not indicate freezing rain; there was active precipitation with a temperature of 1C. When we began sliding; we immediately deployed reverse thrust which arrested the slide. There was a drain area on the de-ice pad which was a low spot in the ramp area. We were able to maneuver the aircraft to a position over or close to the drain and able to stop and regain control of the aircraft. At that point we discussed and made a firm decision that we were not going to continue the flight but needed to return to the gate. An announcement was made to the passengers that for safety reasons and due to the icy conditions of the taxiways that we were going to return to the gate. We contacted Operations and requested them to send a tug out to our location so they could tow us back to the gate. Upon arrival of the tug; we communicated with them and specifically asked if they felt there was enough traction to pull us back to the gate. The tug driver; who was also the ramp supervisor; indicated that they did. Additionally; we specifically stated that if he felt any loss of traction whatsoever; that we wanted him to stop immediately and we would come up with another plan. We confirmed nose wheel steering was off and parking brake was off. He then commenced to tug us back to the gate. We moved about 5 feet at which point we all commented that it felt there was traction. Almost immediately after that; the tug lost all traction and both the aircraft and the tug started to slide. The tug jack knifed to the left of the aircraft and we were only able to arrest the slide by again deploying thrust reversers. The aircraft came to rest with the tug adjacent to the main cabin door and the aircraft on taxiway Foxtrot just west of Taxiway Mike. At this point we instructed the ramp personnel to not move or touch anything and we would communicate with them the next course of action.We made a call to Maintenance Control who advised us to take pictures of the nose gear. Due to the proximity of the tug; we could not open the main cabin door to egress the aircraft and take pictures. The ramp personnel were instructed to take pictures and send them to Maintenance Control. At this point Maintenance Control advised that local maintenance was going to come out to the aircraft and that we should not move the aircraft at all. The discrepancy was recorded in the maintenance log book and communicated to Maintenance control. We left both engines running because we did not know if the small amount of forward thrust was keeping us from sliding further. Ground control was advised of our situation and had no issue. We contacted dispatch to ensure that they were made aware of our situation. Throughout this whole process announcements were made to the passengers as well as communication with our flight attendant. Updates were given approximately every 15 minutes to the passengers and the mood of the cabin was overall okay. Some passengers were antsy but our flight attendant did a great job of ensuring the passengers were well taken care of and that the cabin was a comfortable temperature. When local maintenance arrived; we requested the ramp personnel to de-ice the area around the landing gear so that the aircraft could be securely chocked and we could shut down both engines. Thede-ice fluid failed to penetrate the layer of ice and a chemical solvent was used to melt the ice enough for us to be securely chocked. During this time we also coordinated with ramp personnel to arrange for vehicles to transport the passengers from our aircraft to the terminal when the main cabin door could be opened. We also asked them to put a de-ice solvent on the ice for passenger safety. When the aircraft was securely chocked; the maintenance and ground personnel were able to remove the tow bar and clear the tug from the aircraft. We completed our appropriate checklists and opened the main cabin door. Passengers were shuttled to the terminal with the assistance of 4 vehicles; including two police vehicles. Each passenger was individually thanked for their patience and apologized to for the inconvenience by the Captain. All but one passenger who complained she might miss her cruise seemed understanding with a few even offering thanks for how the situation was handled. When all passengers were safely transported back to the terminal the next task was to get the aircraft back to the gate. Local maintenance advised that the two steering actuators and the sheer pin were broken but no other damage could be seen at that time. We communicated to station personnel that maintenance said the aircraft could be safely towed back into the gate. After lengthy discussion on their part; they determined that it was too icy and they did not want to attempt to tug the aircraft back to the gate. We communicated with Maintenance Control and advised them of the situation. They asked us to shut down the aircraft and close the main cabin door. Ground control was advised of the aircraft remaining in that location at least overnight. They advised that would not be a problem.Station personnel asked if we would give them a statement regarding what happened. I contacted the Manager again and was advised that the official statement would come from [Company] to their regional managers and to offer no official statement. We ensured bags were offloaded and helped return some of the bags to the passengers when we were back in the terminal. We both inspected the nose gear and aircraft and determined there was no further damage beyond what local maintenance documented. We debriefed as a crew and went to the hotel.

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.