Widebody Transport
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 120; Flight Crew Total 15000; Flight Crew Type 120
Situational Awareness
Ground Excursion Taxiway
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Airport; Human Factors
When exiting Runway 36R in CLT airport; on Romeo exit when turning left onto Charlie Taxiway (about a 135 degree left turn) at walking speed it felt like the left main brakes were dragging. Not wanting to hurt or damage the aircraft we stopped and called maintenance. When he plugged in he said the left main gear was slightly off the taxiway and on the frozen mud and to use enough power to power onto Taxiway Charlie. I applied enough power and the aircraft taxied onto the taxiway with no problems or damage to the aircraft. No taxi lights were run over.What would I do different next time so this does not happen again? If I exited onto Romeo I would turn left on Alfa (45 degree turn) left on Gulf (90 degree turn) right on Charlie (90 degree turn) instead of a 135 degree left turn onto Charlie or I would exit 36R at C9 (90 degree turn) with a (90 degree turn) onto Charlie. I have only been to CLT one other time and I landed 18L with a right turn at C4. I think that [wide body aircraft] exiting on Romeo should not try to make the 135 degree left turn onto Charlie because there is no fillet. I also think this should be added to the 10-10 page.
After landing on 36R at CLT we exited the runway on taxiway Romeo and were told to make another left onto Charlie taxiway and continue taxiing to the ramp and to remain/monitor on tower frequency. During the left turn off of Romeo onto Charlie taxiway; we noticed that the left main gear felt like it was not responding properly and that we might have an issue with a truck; brake or tire so the Captain immediately stopped the taxi. After a brief discussion we called Operations and had them send out the maintenance personnel to further assist and help to assess the situation. Upon arrival to the aircraft; maintenance informed us that the left landing gear was about 3 feet off of the taxiway and on frozen ground. He advised to try and continue forward and taxi back onto the pavement using a little extra power. This was successful and we then continued the taxi to the ramp with no further problems.
Wide body captain experienced a taxiway excursion while attempting to turn from taxiway R to Taxiway C (135 degrees) at CLT. The ground is frozen and the Captain is able to continue taxiing after being checked by Maintenance.