Narrative:

Crew received a 'nose steering inoperative' caution message during a climb through 10;000 ft. Crew contacted dispatch and maintenance. Maintenance merely said; 'ok; we'll have someone meet you at the plane in [destination] and reset it;' which I found to not be helpful information. The checklist merely advises the crew to find the longest runway with the least amount of crosswind. As the destination was [an airport with shorter runways] I felt additional help and information was required. As the captain of the flight; I had never taxied this plane without nose wheel steering and was uncertain of what to expect. After considering the weather conditions at several airports; it was determined that continuing to [destination] where the winds were only 10 KTS and right down a dry runway would be prudent. An emergency was declared and ATC was informed that the controllability once on the runway was uncertain and for them to plan accordingly. The landing was uneventful; but controllability became difficult and a tow to the gate was arranged.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-70 Captain reported receiving a 'Nose Steering Inop' message on climb. He declared an emergency at destination and was towed to the gate.

Narrative: Crew received a 'Nose Steering INOP' caution message during a climb through 10;000 FT. Crew contacted Dispatch and Maintenance. Maintenance merely said; 'Ok; we'll have someone meet you at the plane in [destination] and reset it;' which I found to not be helpful information. The checklist merely advises the crew to find the longest runway with the least amount of crosswind. As the destination was [an airport with shorter runways] I felt additional help and information was required. As the Captain of the flight; I had never taxied this plane without nose wheel steering and was uncertain of what to expect. After considering the weather conditions at several airports; it was determined that continuing to [destination] where the winds were only 10 KTS and right down a dry runway would be prudent. An emergency was declared and ATC was informed that the controllability once on the runway was uncertain and for them to plan accordingly. The landing was uneventful; but controllability became difficult and a tow to the gate was arranged.

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.