Narrative:

On a route westbound and deviating for weather at FL360 we were informed that our destination airport had just closed because of weather. We were given a present position hold with 15 mile legs and an efc. The captain was flying and I was building the holding pattern in the FMC. We activated the pattern and had the autopilot start to fly it. The captain gave me the airplane and dialed up dispatch to talk to him for we did not have a lot of holding fuel. We were in a right hand holding pattern; as we did not hear the controller give us direction of holding so we did a standard right turn. As we rolled out of the turn (eastbound) I saw traffic coming toward us at same altitude on the TCAS. I was going to query the controller but the frequency was busy with all the holding and deviating chatter. I got a descend RA and I responded immediately with a descent and triggered my radio and said I was responding to an RA. I did not get an acknowledgement of my call and the frequency remained busy so I don't know if my call got cut out. By the time the RA cleared we were at FL350 and the controller asked if we were in a left turn as they probably saw the conflict. I had not answered when the controller said 'verify altitude' and I told them level at FL350. At that point the traffic was passing by us and the controller gave us a further descent to FL340. We did not talk or say anything of what had just happened on the frequency because a lot was going on with the holding and the weather but I knew by the voice and actions of the controller that they were aware that something unusual had just happened. They kept vectoring us toward our destination and later on asked to call them on the ground we could sort out what had happened. From what I could tell the other aircraft in conflict with us was given an expedite descend to a lower altitude but he did not do so. I don't know if this is what caused this conflict or if he did not descend because his RA told him not to do so. From the call on the ground it appears to me that the controller may not have heard my responding to an RA call as they were not sure why I was down to FL350. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-800 crew reported responding to a TCAS RA at FL360 after another aircraft failed to respond quickly enough to an ATC altitude change clearance. Frequency congestion contributed to the missed communications.

Narrative: On a route westbound and deviating for weather at FL360 we were informed that our destination airport had just closed because of weather. We were given a present position hold with 15 mile legs and an EFC. The Captain was flying and I was building the holding pattern in the FMC. We activated the pattern and had the autopilot start to fly it. The Captain gave me the airplane and dialed up Dispatch to talk to him for we did not have a lot of holding fuel. We were in a right hand holding pattern; as we did not hear the Controller give us direction of holding so we did a standard right turn. As we rolled out of the turn (eastbound) I saw traffic coming toward us at same altitude on the TCAS. I was going to query the Controller but the frequency was busy with all the holding and deviating chatter. I got a descend RA and I responded immediately with a descent and triggered my radio and said I was responding to an RA. I did not get an acknowledgement of my call and the frequency remained busy so I don't know if my call got cut out. By the time the RA cleared we were at FL350 and the Controller asked if we were in a left turn as they probably saw the conflict. I had not answered when the Controller said 'Verify altitude' and I told them level at FL350. At that point the traffic was passing by us and the Controller gave us a further descent to FL340. We did not talk or say anything of what had just happened on the frequency because a lot was going on with the holding and the weather but I knew by the voice and actions of the Controller that they were aware that something unusual had just happened. They kept vectoring us toward our destination and later on asked to call them on the ground we could sort out what had happened. From what I could tell the other aircraft in conflict with us was given an expedite descend to a lower altitude but he did not do so. I don't know if this is what caused this conflict or if he did not descend because his RA told him not to do so. From the call on the ground it appears to me that the Controller may not have heard my responding to an RA call as they were not sure why I was down to FL350. The rest of the flight was uneventful.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.