An air carrier aircraft lost directional control during a slow taxi on an ice covered taxiway; so th...

Narrative:

Pushed back from gate with taxi instructions 'hold short D3.' switched to ground control with instructions to' taxi to sierra deice via taxiway east' slow taxi; 3-4 knots; both engines running while attempting to join taxiway echo. Entered a slow left turn when aircraft lost directional control due to taxiway ice. Drifted right of taxiway centerline and slid to a stop. Notified ground; secured engines and called for tug. Aircraft engine was inside blue taxi lights by approximately 4 feet as relayed by ground tug crew. I looked out the R1 door to confirm position. Informed passengers of the nature of the icing delay. Tug crew pulled forward and easily returned the aircraft to the ramp area which had much better traction. We restarted engines and continued to de-ice area charlie; then departed runway 10C. Maintained constant radio contact with pit ops and phoned dispatcher of nature of delay. Tiller was unresponsive. Braking nil. I came in the night prior on a stand up. Light freezing rain had frozen to taxiways while on top of older snow deposits.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier aircraft lost directional control during a slow taxi on an ice covered taxiway; so the Captain shut both engines down as it drifted off the centerline. The aircraft was towed back onto the taxiway.

Narrative: Pushed back from gate with taxi instructions 'hold short D3.' Switched to Ground Control with instructions to' taxi to Sierra deice via taxiway E' Slow taxi; 3-4 knots; both engines running while attempting to join taxiway Echo. Entered a slow left turn when aircraft lost directional control due to taxiway ice. Drifted right of taxiway centerline and slid to a stop. Notified ground; secured engines and called for tug. Aircraft engine was inside blue taxi lights by approximately 4 feet as relayed by ground tug crew. I looked out the R1 Door to confirm position. Informed passengers of the nature of the icing delay. Tug crew pulled forward and easily returned the aircraft to the ramp area which had much better traction. We restarted engines and continued to de-ice area Charlie; then departed Runway 10C. Maintained constant radio contact with PIT ops and phoned Dispatcher of nature of delay. Tiller was unresponsive. Braking nil. I came in the night prior on a stand up. Light freezing rain had frozen to taxiways while on top of older snow deposits.

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.

Attributes
ACN	928499
Time
Date	201101
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	PIT.Airport
State Reference	PA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dawn
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control

An air carrier aircraft lost directional control during a slow taxi on an ice covered taxiway; so the captain shut both engines down as it drifted off the centerline. The aircraft was towed back onto the taxiway.