20070202004689I

(-23) On 02/02/2007, at approximately 19:54, swaa was cleared to land on runway 19, at alb. Conditions were 3/4 mile visibility with light snow. Runway conditions were good, with a thin layer of wet snow. Shortly before landing, ATC told crew that they would need to "roll out" to the end, as other taxiways were closed due to snow accumulation. ATC did not mention braking conditions at the time. Landing and initial rollout were normal, as aircraft continued down the runway captain slowed with brakes and thrust reversers to about 50 knots mid field. Crew then continued to decelerate as they rolled the next 4000 feet toward the FAR end of the runway. The captain applied the brakes again at about 15 knots at approximately 800 feet from the end of the runway. Initially, captain stated that braking felt normal for the snowy conditions, with some anti-skid cycling. As captain applied the brakes harder for the turn-off, aircraft started a continuous skid from approximately 10 knots to zero. Captain further stated he "stood" on the brakes, trying to stop the aircraft as they slowly skidded straight ahead. Aircraft eventually came to a stop at the centerline with the nose of the aircraft just short of the runway end and first row of lights. Crew was unable at this point to make a safe 90 degree turn from that position to exit the runway. Due to the "nil" braking conditions and how close the crew was to the end of the runway, captain chose not to move the aircraft any further under power. Crew then elected to shut down both engines, and disable the aircraft on the runway due to the slick conditions. At this point, captain coordinated with ATC, dispatch, and operations to have the aircraft towed to the gate by swaa personnel. Unfortunately, the tug driver knocked over a runway light while maneuvering to hook up the tow bar. After some repositioning of the tug, and assistance from snowplow operators the aircraft was finally towed to the gate without further difficulty. No injuries were reported by the passengers or crew members. Swaa ground operations arrived at the end of the runway and attempted to tow the aircraft to the gate. However, the tug became stuck as well. At this point, airport snow removal personnel arrived clearing a path for the tug and aircraft. Approximately one hour later swaa operations were then able to tow the aircraft to the gate without further incident. No injuries were reported. After swaa management spoke with airport manager privacy data omitted, it was determined the communication between the airport snow removal teams from one shift to another was not what it should have been during the event. The afternoon shift was ending at 1930 and the night shift was to start at 19:30. However, due to flight activity and shift change the runway was not plowed from 19:00 until after flight 522 landed at 19:54. privacy data omitted Reassured swaa that the new procedures for "shift changes" during a weather event will prevent the same scenario from happening again. Basically, new snow removal procedures will require the snow removal crews to continue their shift until the crew coming on is in place and ready to take over the snow removal process.