Narrative:

Upon arrival into the kodiak area we were kept high by anchorage center due to an outbound IFR helicopter. Once cleared for a visual approach we contacted tower. The tower advised us to report a 2 mile right base to runway 26; to which the captain (pilot monitoring) replied that we would need to maneuver out a bit to lose altitude due to the late approach clearance from center. Tower replied that was approved and to report turning final. We turned an approximate 6 mile final and as we were in the turn we noticed additional traffic on TCAS inbound towards the kodiak airport as well. The captain called our turn to final and also queried tower about the traffic; to which the tower controller's response was almost inaudible. After two additional attempts to understand the tower controller we finally understood tower was not talking to that traffic yet. We believe the controller was having issues with his microphone.shortly thereafter that traffic; another helicopter; called in for landing. Additionally; a cherokee called in over buskin pass for landing. There was another VFR aircraft apparently on the landing rollout on 26 and one additional VFR aircraft being vectored for 29. The controller was apparently very task saturated and seemed to lose certainty as to which aircraft was where. We asked the controller for a landing clearance twice while on final; stating our position each time; to which we were told to continue both times. Finally; at approximately 400 feet AGL we received a landing clearance. We landed without incident and expeditiously taxied to taxiway foxtrot to exit 26. On taxi in the controller asked us to call him and provided a phone number. The captain and I attempted to reach the controller numerous times on the phone while we were on the ground in kodiak with no luck. When picking up our IFR clearance for our outbound flight I mentioned to the controller that we were trying to reach him via phone to which he only replied 'roger.'on climb out on our departure we asked the controller if we needed to contact him once we reached our next destination to which he replied; 'it's okay; don't worry about it anymore.' as we continued on our flight the captain and I discussed the event thoroughly and agreed that he and I exhibited good CRM; decision making; and traffic awareness. We strongly feel that the controller was task saturated and had a high workload with lots of inbounds. A contributing factor could have been the apparent microphone issues that controller was having. Another contributing factor is the lack of radar in the kodiak area. When considering the possibility of a go-around; or traffic escape maneuver; there was inbound traffic in all quadrants that did not have terrain. Due to potential traffic conflicts we continued the approach. Neither of us feel that any regulations nor ATC instructions were violated. I am filing this report to communicate the event and raise awareness to the high amount of traffic in the kodiak area.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier First Officer reported receiving a late landing clearance due to communication problems with the Tower.

Narrative: Upon arrival into the Kodiak area we were kept high by Anchorage Center due to an outbound IFR helicopter. Once cleared for a visual approach we contacted Tower. The Tower advised us to report a 2 mile right base to Runway 26; to which the Captain (Pilot Monitoring) replied that we would need to maneuver out a bit to lose altitude due to the late approach clearance from Center. Tower replied that was approved and to report turning final. We turned an approximate 6 mile final and as we were in the turn we noticed additional traffic on TCAS inbound towards the Kodiak airport as well. The Captain called our turn to final and also queried Tower about the traffic; to which the Tower Controller's response was almost inaudible. After two additional attempts to understand the Tower Controller we finally understood Tower was not talking to that traffic yet. We believe the controller was having issues with his microphone.Shortly thereafter that traffic; another helicopter; called in for landing. Additionally; a Cherokee called in over Buskin Pass for landing. There was another VFR aircraft apparently on the landing rollout on 26 and one additional VFR aircraft being vectored for 29. The controller was apparently very task saturated and seemed to lose certainty as to which aircraft was where. We asked the controller for a landing clearance twice while on final; stating our position each time; to which we were told to continue both times. Finally; at approximately 400 feet AGL we received a landing clearance. We landed without incident and expeditiously taxied to taxiway Foxtrot to exit 26. On taxi in the controller asked us to call him and provided a phone number. The Captain and I attempted to reach the controller numerous times on the phone while we were on the ground in Kodiak with no luck. When picking up our IFR clearance for our outbound flight I mentioned to the controller that we were trying to reach him via phone to which he only replied 'roger.'On climb out on our departure we asked the controller if we needed to contact him once we reached our next destination to which he replied; 'It's okay; don't worry about it anymore.' As we continued on our flight the Captain and I discussed the event thoroughly and agreed that he and I exhibited good CRM; decision making; and traffic awareness. We strongly feel that the controller was task saturated and had a high workload with lots of inbounds. A contributing factor could have been the apparent microphone issues that controller was having. Another contributing factor is the lack of radar in the Kodiak area. When considering the possibility of a go-around; or traffic escape maneuver; there was inbound traffic in all quadrants that did not have terrain. Due to potential traffic conflicts we continued the approach. Neither of us feel that any regulations nor ATC instructions were violated. I am filing this report to communicate the event and raise awareness to the high amount of traffic in the Kodiak area.

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.