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Although cleared for visual approach by new orleans TRACON; a congested tower frequency at hum prevented the flight crew of a BE20 from making timely contact. A traffic conflict with one of several helicopters operating at the airport resulted; followed by a TCAS RA and a go around by the reporter's aircraft.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1002524 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201204 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | HUM.Airport |
| State Reference | LA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Super King Air 200 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Helicopter |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 6900 Flight Crew Type 2500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 3000 Vertical 200 |
Narrative:
Approaching hum in VMC; we were cleared for a visual approach to runway 36 and handed off to the tower. As has been the case occasionally in the past; the tower controller was constantly giving out helicopter clearances leaving no time on frequency for us to check in.there were numerous TCAS targets all around as we continued our visual approach from a 5 mile final approach. Still unable to check in due to constant radio chatter; and approaching short final; we noted a helicopter above and at 12 o'clock and another one parked right in the middle of runway 36. TCAS supported our visual observations and alerted accordingly.the captain immediately initiated a missed approach; deviating to the left to avoid the airborne helicopter. I called 'xxxxxx going around; aircraft on the runway'. The controller seemed genuinely surprised by our presence and told us; 'when we are busy; stay away from the airport'. I explained that we were IFR; cleared for the visual approach and were unable to contact the tower due to no breaks in the issuance of clearances.we landed after making left traffic as per ATC; and the controller told us 'sorry that we are so busy sometimes'.this has happened before at hum; I have had to go around because they are so busy issuing helicopter clearances; but this instance was especially disturbing as clearly the controller was so engrossed in other tasks that he did not seem to have any idea that a fixed wing aircraft was inbound. This resulted in a number of hazards: not being able to communicate with the tower; a runway incursion and a conflict with an airborne aircraft.hum desperately needs an additional controller during these busy times. It is just too dangerous for one controller to try and do all that work.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Although cleared for visual approach by New Orleans TRACON; a congested Tower frequency at HUM prevented the flight crew of a BE20 from making timely contact. A traffic conflict with one of several helicopters operating at the airport resulted; followed by a TCAS RA and a go around by the reporter's aircraft.
Narrative: Approaching HUM in VMC; we were cleared for a visual approach to Runway 36 and handed off to the Tower. As has been the case occasionally in the past; the Tower Controller was constantly giving out helicopter clearances leaving no time on frequency for us to check in.There were numerous TCAS targets all around as we continued our visual approach from a 5 mile final approach. Still unable to check in due to constant radio chatter; and approaching short final; we noted a helicopter above and at 12 o'clock and another one parked right in the middle of Runway 36. TCAS supported our visual observations and alerted accordingly.The Captain immediately initiated a missed approach; deviating to the left to avoid the airborne helicopter. I called 'XXXXXX going around; aircraft on the runway'. The Controller seemed genuinely surprised by our presence and told us; 'When we are busy; stay away from the airport'. I explained that we were IFR; cleared for the visual approach and were unable to contact the Tower due to no breaks in the issuance of clearances.We landed after making left traffic as per ATC; and the Controller told us 'sorry that we are so busy sometimes'.This has happened before at HUM; I have had to go around because they are so busy issuing helicopter clearances; but this instance was especially disturbing as clearly the Controller was so engrossed in other tasks that he did not seem to have any idea that a fixed wing aircraft was inbound. This resulted in a number of hazards: Not being able to communicate with the Tower; a runway incursion and a conflict with an airborne aircraft.HUM desperately needs an additional controller during these busy times. It is just too dangerous for one controller to try and do all that work.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.