B737 flight crew reported a loss of nose wheel steering control during taxi on a wet taxiway. The nose wheel slid and the Captain braked aggressively to remain on the taxiway; no damage occurred to taxiway lights or the aircraft.
Synopsis
B737 flight crew reported a loss of nose wheel steering control during taxi on a wet taxiway. The nose wheel slid and the Captain braked aggressively to remain on the taxiway; no damage occurred to taxiway lights or the aircraft.
Narrative
After landing on ZZZ [Runway] XXC; proceeded on ATC cleared Taxiway 1 route. 90 degree turn from Taxiway 2 onto Taxiway 1 was made at reduced speed due to damp/wet taxiways and current ZZZ NOTAM recommendations. 90 degree turn from Taxiway 1 onto Taxiway 3 was initiated. During the initial portion of the turn the aircraft nose wheel began to slide and the aircraft continued on a 45 degree path toward the left edge of Taxiway 3. Momentary centering of the nose wheel and a return to a right turn on the tiller along with aggressive braking stopped the aircraft short of the designated left edge of Taxiway 3. No part of the aircraft departed the designated boundaries of Taxiway 3 and no taxiway lights were damaged. Proceeded north on Taxiway 3 at reduced speed to asses any possible damage to the nose gear tires/steering/brakes. The aircraft operated normally and after a positive assessment of the aircraft's condition a normal taxi was made to the gate. A post flight inspection was made of the aircraft paying particular attention to the nose gear tires and steering equipment. No damage or abnormalities were found. No entry to the logbook was made.Cause: Convective activity with heavy rain showers occurred a short duration prior to our arrival. All taxiway and ramp surfaces were wet. I believe the turns from Taxiway 2 onto taxiway 1 and from 1 onto 3 are particularly vulnerable to degraded taxi operations when they are wet. I believe that when I initiated the right turn the nose gear immediately slipped/hydroplaned across the painted taxiway centerline. Due to the ongoing construction at ZZZ the there is an extremely high number of associated NOTAMS. I believe a higher level of notification and awareness regarding the 90 degree turns at the south end of the 1 route at ZZZ may help mitigate additional taxi incidents such as ours.
Second reporter narrative
After landing on XXC we exited right and joined Taxiway 1 and joined I believe 2 and joining; again; what I believe is 3 (perimeter route after landing South flow on XXc) we made the right hand turn to join 3 from 2 and directional control was briefly lost as we continued skidding westerly. Captain applied more forceful braking to bring us to a complete stop on the taxiway but to the left of centerline. Captain then was able to bring us back on to centerline and we continued taxi to the gate. The taxiway was wet and can only conclude that the wet centerline led to a compromise in directional control of the nose wheel when turning northbound. I did an exterior inspection and found the nose gear and nose wheel tires to still have plenty of tread and were not worn. Same for the main gear. The rest of the exterior inspection showed no issues. Cause: Wet taxiway and centerline lead to the compromise in directional control when making the north bound turn. If centerline paint could somehow be designed to have more grip in wet conditions that would be beneficial. Or bringing the aircraft to a near stop before making a turn to help insure directional control can be maintained in wet conditions.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.