AN ACR MLG PIC RPT ON THE FREQ CONGESTION EXPERIENCED WITHIN N90 CTLED AIRSPACE AND THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN VERIFYING THE CLRNCS ISSUED. THE FLC HAD EXECUTED A R TURN VERSUS THE CLRED L TURN IN A CLRNC TO RBV.

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WE WERE ON THE ROBBINSVILLE ARR WHEN WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO HOLD AT GARED INTXN AS PUBLISHED. A FEW MINS LATER; WE WERE CLRED TO HOLEY INTXN AND TO HOLD AS PUBLISHED WITH AN EFC TIME OF XA30. AS WE REACHED THE FIX AND ENTERED THE HOLD; WE WERE BEGINNING OUR TURN OUTBOUND. WE WERE TOLD OUR CLRNC LIMIT WAS ROBBINSVILLE. THE CTLR WAS VERY BUSY AND IT WAS DIFFICULT TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE. TO CLARIFY THE INSTRUCTION; I ASKED IF HE WANTED US TO CONTINUE TO TURN L OR TURN R. WE HEARD TURN R AND MAINTAIN 250 KTS; BUT WE DID NOT HEAR THE CALL SIGN. WE CONTINUED TO TURN R TOWARDS ROBBINSVILLE AND DURING THAT TIME I WANTED TO CLR UP THE INSTRUCTION; BUT I COULD NOT BREAK IN BECAUSE OF CONTINUOUS ATC TALK. HE CAME BACK AND ASKED (AFTER CONTINUOUS TALKING) IF WE WERE TURNING L OR R. WE STATED WE WERE TURNING R. HE STATED THAT COULD BE A FATAL MISTAKE; AT WHICH TIME HE SAID TURN R; I BELIEVE; AND DSND AND MAINTAIN 11000 FT; WHICH WAS OUR ASSIGNED ALT; AND AT WHICH WE WERE LEVELING AT. HE THEN CALLED TFC AT; I BELIEVE; 9 O'CLOCK POS AND 6 MI AND; I BELIEVE; 12000 FT. WE HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT AND THERE WAS NO CONFLICT OR TCASII RESOLUTION OR ALERT. I STATED BACK TO HIM WE HAD TRIED TO CALL HIM AND THAT WE COULD NOT GET A WORD IN. WE WANTED TO CLARIFY HIS INSTRUCTIONS AND COULDN'T; AND AT WHICH TIME I GOT AN EFC TIME WHICH WAS NOT GIVEN INITIALLY. I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THERE WAS NO INDICATION WITH OUR TCASII OF A CONFLICT AND METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WERE CLR AND UNRESTR VISIBILITY. I FEEL IF THE CTLR WAS OR HAD BEEN MORE SPECIFIC IN HIS INSTRUCTIONS AND CLRNC; THIS SIT WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED. WE AS FLYING PLTS MUST BE ABLE TO CLARIFY CLRNCS WITHOUT FEELING WE ARE INCONVENIENCING ATC. MANY TIMES IN THIS NEW YORK AREA XMISSIONS FROM PLTS AND CTLRS ARE COVERED AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK. WE WERE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS AS WE KNEW AND UNDERSTOOD THEM. FACTORS WHICH EFFECT HUMAN PERFORMANCE ARE: IN SOME ENRTE AND TERMINAL FACILITIES; THE CTLR ARE SO BUSY IT IS DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO CONVEY ALL THE INFO AND SPECIFICS THEY MUST CONVEY.