Narrative:

We were deiced/anti-iced and taxiing on lima to the departure end of runway 06R at cle. A gusting wind caused a right turn (weather vane effect) on the icy taxiway. I applied left tiller and both brakes to correct the taxi-line deviation. The aircraft tiller and brakes were ineffective at first. The nosewheel finally rolled onto a portion of the taxiway that was not as icy and caused a rapid turn back toward the taxiway centerline and on around to where the aircraft had completed a 180 degree turn while remaining on the taxiway. At no time did the aircraft leave the taxiway.we stopped the aircraft and called ground to have the airport authority send someone out to give the aircraft an exterior inspection on the taxiway to determine if we could taxi back to the gate under the aircraft's own power. He saw no damage and provided hand signal guidance to ensure that we could turn back around. (Another aircraft was headed our direction on lima to runway 06R). With tower clearance we taxied down the runway and returned to the gate. Maintenance performed an engine ice/FOD inspection and signed off the logbook write-up. We taxied back out and decided/anti-iced again but maintenance control called and requested us to return to the gate for further maintenance inspections. We were given another aircraft and departed.important to note that the weather was 350/17 gusting to 24 with 1 1/2 SM blsn. This was the time we were in and leaving the deice pad. At the time of the event the weather was 350/18 gusting to 28 with 1/4 SM blsn. This indicates the increasing gusting winds and the reduced visibility associated with blowing snow.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew reports losing control while taxiing in icy conditions with a strong quartering tailwind. The aircraft rotates right initially; then sharply to the left as the nose wheels find traction and turns 180 degrees before stopping. The crew returns to the gate for a maintenance inspection and eventually an aircraft swap.

Narrative: We were deiced/anti-iced and taxiing on Lima to the departure end of runway 06R at CLE. A gusting wind caused a right turn (weather vane effect) on the icy taxiway. I applied left tiller and both brakes to correct the taxi-line deviation. The aircraft tiller and brakes were ineffective at first. The nosewheel finally rolled onto a portion of the taxiway that was not as icy and caused a rapid turn back toward the taxiway centerline and on around to where the aircraft had completed a 180 degree turn while remaining on the taxiway. At no time did the aircraft leave the taxiway.We stopped the aircraft and called ground to have the airport authority send someone out to give the aircraft an exterior inspection on the taxiway to determine if we could taxi back to the gate under the aircraft's own power. He saw no damage and provided hand signal guidance to ensure that we could turn back around. (Another aircraft was headed our direction on Lima to runway 06R). With tower clearance we taxied down the runway and returned to the gate. Maintenance performed an engine Ice/FOD inspection and signed off the logbook write-up. We taxied back out and decided/anti-iced again but Maintenance Control called and requested us to return to the gate for further maintenance inspections. We were given another aircraft and departed.Important to note that the weather was 350/17 gusting to 24 with 1 1/2 SM BLSN. This was the time we were in and leaving the deice pad. At the time of the event the weather was 350/18 gusting to 28 with 1/4 SM BLSN. This indicates the increasing gusting winds and the reduced visibility associated with blowing snow.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.