Heavy Transport
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Time Pressure; Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Incursion Runway
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Weather; Airport
Preflight; Pushback and Taxi [were] all normal off the ramp. Configuration and cold weather considerations all complied with upon holding short on the ramp waiting for a line that had formed on Taxiway Delta to Runway 23L. Ground worked us in with instruction to taxi to [Runway] 23R via Delta; Delta Two and hold short of [Runway] 23L. We taxied and turned right onto Delta and held. Upon resumption of taxi we were given hold short of [Runway] 23L at Delta Two and I moved the aircraft with intent to do so. I used min power to get the aircraft rolling slightly and almost immediately came back to idle to affect 4-6 KTS ground speed for the turn. The aircraft responded and started left; 25-30 degrees into the turn I could tell the nose start to slip and I began to decrease the tiller I had in to straighten the nose. The nose seemed to be unresponsive to input so I applied max brakes with NIL affect. Our speed forward never exceeded about 4-5 KTS. With max brakes applied the aircraft moved straight for 30-40 FT off centerline and came to rest with nose wheel slightly past the hold short line pointing in northwest direction on the taxiway apron. We immediately let Tower know we were past the hold short and unable to taxi. Tower immediately shut down Runway 23L and diverted taxiing aircraft. I set the parking brake and we commenced appropriate checklists to secure the engines and prepare for Maintenance help and assessment. Maintenance quickly responded with the help of the airport authority; plows and chemical spreaders. The maintenance team informed us the 'black ice' in the intersection wasn't suitable to walk on. Maintenance had the chemical truck saturate the entire taxiway around the aircraft so they could operate safely to tug the jet back onto the centerline. After pinning the nose gear the aircraft was safely moved back onto centerline and written up for pinning the nose gear and requiring repositioning onto the taxiway. After consulting with the Duty Officer; Maintenance Control and having Maintenance signoff the logbook; we restarted in place and continued the trip.Maintenance personnel supervising the reposition called the intersection and Taxiway D2 'black ice' and said we should not have been operating on that taxiway in the condition it was with nil braking action. D2 has a slight uphill grade to it approaching the runway at the hold short line. Heavy Lighting from the ramp casts shadows onto taxiways from residual lighting a distance away. Captain used max brakes to no effect with no antiskid protection at low speed.Detect the ice with vehicles equipped to do so in a timely manner and close taxiways until they are treated properly and have sufficient coefficient of friction. Use caution if you know a specific ground route has not been taxied on and expect the unexpected.
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An aircraft taxiing for takeoff at IND lost control of the aircraft on Taxiway D2 because of NIL braking and steering without damage. A tug repositioned the aircraft on the taxiway after the taxiway was chemically deiced and plowed.