Controller complains about problems with the tower emergency conference line at lga.

Attributes
ACN	206364
Time
Date	199204
Day	Tue
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : lga
State Reference	NY
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : flight data
Qualification	controller : radar
Experience	controller radar : 5
ASRS Report	206364
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	other personnel other
Qualification	other other : other
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Airport
Air Traffic Incident	other
Situations
Airport	other physical facility

Narrative:

I performed the daily am check on lga tower's emergency conference line (ecl). The only thing I was able to hear was a loud buzzing sound. The ecl was logged OTS at that time. The ecl is a vital piece of equipment during an accident, and malfunctioned during the crash of an air carrier. At an airport surrounded by water, where seconds can mean lives lost after a crash, it is disgraceful that the ecl does not work, let alone not state of the art.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CTLR COMPLAINS ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH THE TWR EMER CONFERENCE LINE AT LGA.

Narrative: I PERFORMED THE DAILY AM CHK ON LGA TWR'S EMER CONFERENCE LINE (ECL). THE ONLY THING I WAS ABLE TO HEAR WAS A LOUD BUZZING SOUND. THE ECL WAS LOGGED OTS AT THAT TIME. THE ECL IS A VITAL PIECE OF EQUIP DURING AN ACCIDENT, AND MALFUNCTIONED DURING THE CRASH OF AN ACR. AT AN ARPT SURROUNDED BY WATER, WHERE SECONDS CAN MEAN LIVES LOST AFTER A CRASH, IT IS DISGRACEFUL THAT THE ECL DOES NOT WORK, LET ALONE NOT STATE OF THE ART.

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.