Narrative:

Landed runway 5 and cleared at taxiway D. Ground speed approximately 8 KTS. As we approached the intersection of taxiway D and taxiway a; the aircraft slid without control straight ahead. We were able to inch forward onto taxiway a and slowly make the turn toward the ramp. Braking action at the intersection of taxiways D and a was nil and we notified ground control. Upon arrival at the gate; I called dispatch from my cell phone and notified them that the taxiway braking action exiting the runway was nil. I then passed this information to the outbound crew and to buf ground operations. Buf ground operations put me on the phone to the airport authority and I explained the conditions and the location. The runway was cleared of any snow and ice and braking action was 'wet/good.' however; the airport authority apparently does not utilize the same clearing procedure on the taxiways and ramp as all other areas were covered with compacted and extremely slick snow and ice. There was no precipitation falling at the time. The problem from my perspective is that the airport authority does not actually remove any frozen precipitation from the ramp and taxiway areas; they only appear to sand those areas as opposed to removing the contaminate as they do from the runway. This allows for a very hazardous condition to exist once clearing the runway and proceeding to the gate or leaving the gate and proceeding to the runway. Airport authority needs to clear taxiways and ramp areas just as they do the runway. Packed frozen precipitation leads to nil braking conditions; sanding is insufficient to increase the friction component between the tire and taxiway or ramp surface.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A large transport air carrier pilot reported nil braking action at the intersection of BUF taxiways 'D' and 'A.' BUF apparently does not use the same snow and ice clearing procedure on taxiways as is used on the runways.

Narrative: Landed Runway 5 and cleared at Taxiway D. Ground speed approximately 8 KTS. As we approached the intersection of Taxiway D and Taxiway A; the aircraft slid without control straight ahead. We were able to inch forward onto Taxiway A and slowly make the turn toward the ramp. Braking action at the intersection of Taxiways D and A was nil and we notified Ground Control. Upon arrival at the gate; I called Dispatch from my cell phone and notified them that the taxiway braking action exiting the runway was nil. I then passed this information to the outbound crew and to BUF Ground OPS. BUF Ground OPS put me on the phone to the Airport Authority and I explained the conditions and the location. The runway was cleared of any snow and ice and braking action was 'wet/good.' However; the Airport Authority apparently does not utilize the same clearing procedure on the taxiways and ramp as all other areas were covered with compacted and extremely slick snow and ice. There was no precipitation falling at the time. The problem from my perspective is that the Airport Authority does not actually remove any frozen precipitation from the ramp and taxiway areas; they only appear to sand those areas as opposed to removing the contaminate as they do from the runway. This allows for a very hazardous condition to exist once clearing the runway and proceeding to the gate or leaving the gate and proceeding to the runway. Airport Authority needs to clear taxiways and ramp areas just as they do the runway. Packed frozen precipitation leads to nil braking conditions; sanding is insufficient to increase the friction component between the tire and taxiway or ramp surface.

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.