Ground controller described a taxiway excursion by an air carrier taxiing for departure; the reporti...

Narrative:

Aircraft was issued detailed taxi instructions to runway 26L; pilot checked on with current ATIS. Weather (snow; low visibility) at time of incident was such that aircraft was barely visible from tower. Pilot called and asked if he could make a right 270 degree turn; apparently to rejoin his assigned taxi route. I approved his unusual request; as it appeared that he may have missed his turn I immediately offered alternative taxi instructions to eliminate the need for a 270 degree turn at the intersection. Pilot reported that braking action on the taxiway was poor. He then reported something to the effect that he was unable to comply with my alternate instructions. He then reported that he was in the grass. There had been no previous braking action reports regarding taxiways. I immediately informed the supervisor of the situation. Normally the airport authority is meticulous about reporting field conditions; it seems like they may have been behind the power curve today. A braking action report regarding taxiways would have been beneficial to alert users to the conditions experienced. The airport had just plowed the runway and airport crews were just in the vicinity of the incident minutes earlier.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Ground Controller described a taxiway excursion by an Air Carrier taxiing for departure; the reporting noting no taxiway braking action reports were available at the time of the incident.

Narrative: Aircraft was issued detailed taxi instructions to Runway 26L; pilot checked on with current ATIS. Weather (snow; low visibility) at time of incident was such that aircraft was barely visible from tower. Pilot called and asked if he could make a right 270 degree turn; apparently to rejoin his assigned taxi route. I approved his unusual request; as it appeared that he may have missed his turn I immediately offered alternative taxi instructions to eliminate the need for a 270 degree turn at the intersection. Pilot reported that braking action on the taxiway was poor. He then reported something to the effect that he was unable to comply with my alternate instructions. He then reported that he was in the grass. There had been no previous braking action reports regarding taxiways. I immediately informed the Supervisor of the situation. Normally the airport authority is meticulous about reporting field conditions; it seems like they may have been behind the power curve today. A braking action report regarding taxiways would have been beneficial to alert users to the conditions experienced. The airport had just plowed the runway and airport crews were just in the vicinity of the incident minutes earlier.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	993162
Time
Date	201202
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B717 (Formerly MD-95)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Ground
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	Ground Excursion Taxiway

Ground controller described a taxiway excursion by an air carrier taxiing for departure; the reporting noting no taxiway braking action reports were available at the time of the incident.