Cessna 402/402C/B379 Businessliner/Utiliner
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness
Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; Flight Crew Returned To Gate
Airport; Weather
I landed the aircraft 25 minutes prior on the same runway and had good directional control. Light snow continued to fall; but none stuck to the aircraft. There was no ice on the aircraft. A runup and call to flight service for my clearance was performed. An aileron position to the left; to counter the wind was applied and the power was put in patiently; with the momentary pause at approximately 29 inches for the turbochargers to spool up. More power was added as an instrument/annunciator panel scan was done quickly. The aircraft started to weather vane into the wind and began a slow turn towards the left. The rudder pedals for nose wheel steering had no effect as the tire was 'plowing' on the brushed runway. As the aircraft approached 40-50 kts; the rudder started to take effect. The airplane then started to get pushed towards the right side of the runway. After one attempt to fix the change in direction to avoid oscillating and over correcting; I decided to abort the takeoff; and slowly closed the throttles to not upset the aircraft. Flight service was called to cancel the clearance and I passed the information on to a cargo carrier departing next. The cargo pilot acknowledged and took the runway. The [cargo] pilot had a considerably shorter takeoff roll and was airborne without delay in his [aircraft.] Our passengers were de-boarded and the airport manager brushed the runway a few more times. I called the on call duty manager to make sure I wasn't missing anything as per protocol.  After about a 30 minute delay and the runway re-swept; I attempted another takeoff. The runway condition was visibly better; and directional control was adequate for the takeoff. A pilot report to the station was made and a short conversation was had with the incoming pilot on company radio. The rest of the flight continued without any other problems.[This airport] has consistently poor runway; taxiway and ramp conditions in snowy and icy conditions. Even with local knowledge and experience as a guide it can still remain a challenge. Short of an aggressive plowing and brushing operation; I don't see any easy fixes.
C402 pilot reported rejecting the takeoff on a snowy runway after experiencing directional control difficulties.