An air carrier captain reported that lga tower works at night with one controller who answers all ra...

Narrative:

Airport lga. One tower controller on duty handling ground and air traffic. Controller was distracted by saturation of calls; directing ground traffic; and clearing arriving aircraft to land via ILS runway 22; circle to land runway 13. Distance between arriving aircraft was from 3-5 miles. Numerous repeated calls were made to the tower to report position on the circling maneuver and obtaining clearance to land by more than one aircraft. An example of one of the distractions is a mechanic trying to get permission to taxi an aircraft on the airport to another location. The tower controller is heard arguing with him to 'standby.' this situation is very distracting to arriving aircrews and potentially dangerous. This culture is what I have found to be unique to lga tower. Arrogance and complacency are descriptive words that may paint a picture of a future incident. I have very little confidence in the ATC environment controlled by that tower. I have had the most concerns about 'what's next' with regard to what I will face each time I fly into that airport. Part of my arrival briefing to the other pilot is the numerous threats I have faced as well as what potential threats that may face us that day. I have a concern why the tower chose to close runway 22 at 2300 when they could have waited until after midnight. Scheduled traffic arrivals were steady during our arrival period and after. Why would you choose to put commercial airliners in a circling maneuver; at night; with all the distractions and reflections of the surrounding city lights is beyond my comprehension. I felt the margin of safety operating an aircraft in that environment was reduced unnecessarily. One controller on duty to handle all traffic movements in the air and on the ground is dangerously wrong. Corrective actions: 1. Separate tower and ground controller responsibilities. Don't simulcast on both tower and ground frequencies. 2. If the facilities to operational runway are functioning and favor prevailing winds; then choose to keep that runway open; especially an ILS facility equipped runway at night.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Captain reported that LGA Tower works at night with one Controller who answers all radio calls for both Tower and Ground. The delays and distractions for flight crews hearing all transmissions are considered a safety hazard.

Narrative: Airport LGA. One Tower Controller on duty handling ground and air traffic. Controller was distracted by saturation of calls; directing ground traffic; and clearing arriving aircraft to land via ILS Runway 22; circle to land Runway 13. Distance between arriving aircraft was from 3-5 miles. Numerous repeated calls were made to the Tower to report position on the circling maneuver and obtaining clearance to land by more than one aircraft. An example of one of the distractions is a Mechanic trying to get permission to taxi an aircraft on the airport to another location. The Tower Controller is heard arguing with him to 'standby.' This situation is very distracting to arriving aircrews and potentially dangerous. This culture is what I have found to be unique to LGA Tower. Arrogance and complacency are descriptive words that may paint a picture of a future incident. I have very little confidence in the ATC environment controlled by that Tower. I have had the most concerns about 'what's next' with regard to what I will face each time I fly into that airport. Part of my arrival briefing to the other pilot is the numerous threats I have faced as well as what potential threats that may face us that day. I have a concern why the Tower chose to close Runway 22 at 2300 when they could have waited until after Midnight. Scheduled traffic arrivals were steady during our arrival period and after. Why would you choose to put commercial airliners in a circling maneuver; at night; with all the distractions and reflections of the surrounding city lights is beyond my comprehension. I felt the margin of safety operating an aircraft in that environment was reduced unnecessarily. One controller on duty to handle all traffic movements in the air and on the ground is dangerously wrong. Corrective actions: 1. Separate Tower and Ground Controller responsibilities. Don't simulcast on both Tower and Ground frequencies. 2. If the facilities to operational runway are functioning and favor prevailing winds; then choose to keep that runway open; especially an ILS facility equipped runway at night.

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.

Attributes
ACN	880682
Time
Date	201003
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	LGA.Tower
State Reference	NY
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Air Traffic Control Military 21 Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 11000 Flight Crew Type 7000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types

An air carrier captain reported that lga tower works at night with one controller who answers all radio calls for both tower and ground. The delays and distractions for flight crews hearing all transmissions are considered a safety hazard.