A CE560 crew was surprised to find a B727 close by inbound for lga runway 31 while the reporter was making an expressway visual approach to lga. This approach is written for one aircraft in the sky. The reporter was not ready to adjust for multiple aircraft.

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Attributes
ACN	353304
Time
Date	199611
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : lga
State Reference	NY
Altitude	agl bound lower : 1500 agl bound upper : 1500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : lga
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Citation V
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Navigation In Use	Other Other
Flight Phase	descent : approach
Route In Use	approach : visual
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	descent : approach
Route In Use	approach : visual
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : commercial pilot : cfi pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 250 flight time total : 9200 flight time type : 3000
ASRS Report	353304
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Events
Anomaly	conflict : airborne less severe non adherence : clearance other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : took evasive action
Consequence	Other
Miss Distance	horizontal : 3500 vertical : 0
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	other
Situations
ATC Facility	procedure or policy : unspecified

Narrative:

Cleared expressway visual runway 31 lga. Told to follow B727 on final. Act on final parallel to us on downwind. Started left turn. First officer called more traffic on final, 2-3 mi out. Widen out our pattern to take him down left side. At approximately 3000-4000 ft, he descended below our altitude. We had extended our downwind well past flushing park when turning base. When I finally turned final, I had to s-turn left and right 3-5 times for spacing. Questions: 1) how far outside the depicted paths on this charted approach are we supposed to go? 2) why do they bunch us up so close here? I would venture to say that most pilots are not looking for someone to be on a 4-5 mi final on this procedure. And there are a lot of lights over this city and sometimes aircraft are hard to pick out.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CE560 CREW WAS SURPRISED TO FIND A B727 CLOSE BY INBOUND FOR LGA RWY 31 WHILE THE RPTR WAS MAKING AN EXPRESSWAY VISUAL APCH TO LGA. THIS APCH IS WRITTEN FOR ONE ACFT IN THE SKY. THE RPTR WAS NOT READY TO ADJUST FOR MULTIPLE ACFT.

Narrative: CLRED EXPRESSWAY VISUAL RWY 31 LGA. TOLD TO FOLLOW B727 ON FINAL. ACT ON FINAL PARALLEL TO US ON DOWNWIND. STARTED L TURN. FO CALLED MORE TFC ON FINAL, 2-3 MI OUT. WIDEN OUT OUR PATTERN TO TAKE HIM DOWN L SIDE. AT APPROX 3000-4000 FT, HE DSNDED BELOW OUR ALT. WE HAD EXTENDED OUR DOWNWIND WELL PAST FLUSHING PARK WHEN TURNING BASE. WHEN I FINALLY TURNED FINAL, I HAD TO S-TURN L AND R 3-5 TIMES FOR SPACING. QUESTIONS: 1) HOW FAR OUTSIDE THE DEPICTED PATHS ON THIS CHARTED APCH ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO? 2) WHY DO THEY BUNCH US UP SO CLOSE HERE? I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT MOST PLTS ARE NOT LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BE ON A 4-5 MI FINAL ON THIS PROC. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF LIGHTS OVER THIS CITY AND SOMETIMES ACFT ARE HARD TO PICK OUT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.