A320 flight crew responds to TCASII RA while climbing out of lga.

Attributes
ACN	439518
Time
Date	199906
Day	Mon
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : lga.airport
State Reference	NY
Altitude	msl bound lower : 7900 msl bound upper : 8500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Weather Elements	Thunderstorm
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zny.artcc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	other
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zny.artcc
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Helicopter
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 180 flight time total : 15500 flight time type : 270
ASRS Report	439518
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument pilot : multi engine
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : excursion from assigned altitude conflict : airborne critical non adherence : clearance non adherence : published procedure
Independent Detector	aircraft equipment : tcas other flight crewa other flight crewb
Resolutory Action	flight crew : took evasive action flight crew : returned to original clearance
Miss Distance	horizontal : 3000 vertical : 500
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Airspace Structure ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	Ambiguous

Narrative:

Climbing through 8500 ft, TCASII RA at 12 O'clock, less than 3 mi. Performed an evasive maneuver. Disconnected autoplt, pitched down, and descended to approximately 7900 ft. Visual contact with cpr type helicopter made at less than 1/2 mi and 500 ft vertical. Advised ATC, aircraft returned to normal climb confign. Very good crew coordination. Unfortunately, we have to rely more and more on TCASII rather than ATC.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 FLC RESPONDS TO TCASII RA WHILE CLBING OUT OF LGA.

Narrative: CLBING THROUGH 8500 FT, TCASII RA AT 12 O'CLOCK, LESS THAN 3 MI. PERFORMED AN EVASIVE MANEUVER. DISCONNECTED AUTOPLT, PITCHED DOWN, AND DSNDED TO APPROX 7900 FT. VISUAL CONTACT WITH CPR TYPE HELI MADE AT LESS THAN 1/2 MI AND 500 FT VERT. ADVISED ATC, ACFT RETURNED TO NORMAL CLB CONFIGN. VERY GOOD CREW COORD. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE TO RELY MORE AND MORE ON TCASII RATHER THAN ATC.

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.