A320 pilot reported deviating from departure procedure track in response to receiving a TCAS traffic...

Narrative:

Night VMC departure from runway 01R; assigned ATC clearance shead nine RNAV departure; which initially calls for a climb heading 010 to 2;681 feet; then left turn direct bessy intersection.when clearing us for takeoff; tower included traffic advisory for helicopter east of runway centerline; no factor. We took off and climbed; and as our flight director commanded our left turn at 2;681 feet; there were multiple TCAS targets 300 feet above us; the closest within 2-3 miles of us; directly in our path if we turn. We cannot see this traffic due to city lights in the background; we are relying solely on TCAS. We continue straight ahead; and notify ATC.the tower controller did not understand the problem; scoldingly saying we are above the traffic; which we were by then. Handed off to departure control. We advised the departure controller of the now wide turn towards bessy; he cleared us direct another fix on the SID and we are on our way. If we hadn't had an operative TCAS; we might have turned and hit that helicopter; since we never actually saw it; and was led to believe it was 'no factor'.a change of traffic patterns at las as implemented by the local ATC facility; this is not a new problem. We were not fond of the tone and attitude from the las tower controller.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 pilot reported deviating from departure procedure track in response to receiving a TCAS traffic advisory of a helicopter in his flight path departing LAS. The Tower Controller seemed unconcerned.

Narrative: Night VMC departure from Runway 01R; assigned ATC clearance SHEAD NINE RNAV departure; which initially calls for a climb heading 010 to 2;681 feet; then left turn direct BESSY intersection.When clearing us for takeoff; Tower included traffic advisory for helicopter east of runway centerline; no factor. We took off and climbed; and as our flight director commanded our left turn at 2;681 feet; there were multiple TCAS targets 300 feet above us; the closest within 2-3 miles of us; directly in our path if we turn. We cannot see this traffic due to city lights in the background; we are relying solely on TCAS. We continue straight ahead; and notify ATC.The Tower Controller did not understand the problem; scoldingly saying we are above the traffic; which we were by then. Handed off to Departure Control. We advised the Departure Controller of the now wide turn towards BESSY; he cleared us direct another fix on the SID and we are on our way. If we hadn't had an operative TCAS; we might have turned and hit that helicopter; since we never actually saw it; and was led to believe it was 'no factor'.A change of traffic patterns at LAS as implemented by the local ATC facility; this is not a new problem. We were not fond of the tone and attitude from the LAS Tower Controller.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1398778
Time
Date	201608
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	LAS.Airport
State Reference	NV
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

A320 pilot reported deviating from departure procedure track in response to receiving a TCAS traffic advisory of a helicopter in his flight path departing las. The tower controller seemed unconcerned.