BA46 TURNED TO AVOID ENTRY INTO A TSTM. ATC RADAR WAS INOP AFTER BEING HIT BY LIGHTNING. COM WITH APCH CTL WAS NOT POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF TFC DENSITY; AND SIMULTANEOUS XMISSIONS.

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THIS PARTICULAR FLT THAT I WAS PIC ON ORIGINATED OUT OF DTW WITH CHS BEING THE DEST ARPT. AS WE APCHED CHS; WE COULD SEE ON OUR WX RADAR THAT STORMS WERE BEGINNING TO FORM AT AND AROUND THE CHS ARPT. WE WERE EASILY ABLE TO CIRCUMNAV THE STORMS THAT LAY BTWN US AND THE ARPT. AS WE GOT CLOSER TO CHS; WE COULD TELL THAT A FAIRLY LARGE TSTM HAD JUST PASSED OVER THE TOP OF THE CHS ARPT. WE WERE INFORMED BY ZJX THAT LIGHTNING HAD STRUCK A RADAR SITE AT THE ARPT AND THAT WE SHOULD SLOW TO 250 KTS; WHICH WE DID. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; WE WERE TOLD TO CONTACT CHARLESTON APCH CTL. WHEN WE SWITCHED OVER TO APCH; IT BECAME VERY OBVIOUS THAT THE CTLR WAS VERY BUSY. NOT ONLY WAS SHE DEALING WITH THE NORMAL TFC LOAD FOR A SATURDAY; BUT SHE WAS ALSO DEALING WITH ACFT THAT WERE DEVIATING TO CHS BECAUSE OF THE WX. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO CHK ON WITH APCH CTL BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF TFC USING THE FREQ. XMISSIONS WERE CONSTANTLY BEING STEPPED ON BY OTHER ACFT. WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO CHK ON AND SHE EVENTUALLY GAVE US A HDG OF NE AT 5000 FT. WE FLEW THIS HDG AND ALT FOR AWHILE UNTIL IT BECAME OBVIOUS WE WOULD NEED TO TURN BACK TOWARDS THE SW BECAUSE OF A TSTM LINE IN FRONT OF US. BECAUSE APCH WAS SO BUSY; IT WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO COMMUNICATE THIS WITH APCH. I WAS THE PNF; THEREFORE; I HAD CTL OF THE RADIOS. I TRIED IN VAIN TO CONTACT APCH BUT MY XMISSIONS KEPT GETTING STEPPED ON BY OTHER ACFT'S XMISSIONS. AT THIS POINT WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO TURN BECAUSE OF THE STORM THAT WAS IN FRONT OF US BY ONLY A FEW MI. AT THIS POINT I TOLD THE FO TO BEGIN A R TURN TOWARDS THE SW TO AVOID THE LINE OF TSTMS. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN; I ONCE AGAIN TRIED TO CONTACT APCH AND TELL THEM WE WERE IN A R TURN TOWARDS THE SW TO AVOID WX. THE CTLR REPLIED BY READING A CLRNC 'TURN R TO 180 DEG AND DSND TO 3000 FT;' AT WHICH TIME I READ BACK THE CLRNC WITH NO RESPONSE FROM THE CTLR. WE THEN INITIATED A DSCNT TO 3000 FT. AS WE PASSED 4700 FT; THE CTLR TOLD US TO RETURN TO 5000 FT. WE DSNDED TO 4500 FT BEFORE PROMPTLY RETURNING TO 5000 FT AS THE CTLR INSTRUCTED. WHEN I QUERIED THE CTLR ABOUT OUR CLRNC TO 3000 FT; SHE SIMPLY STATED THAT WE WERE ONLY CLRED TO 5000 FT; AND GAVE US A NEW HDG AWAY FROM THE WX. THE FREQ WAS TOO BUSY TO QUERY HER FURTHER AND SHE NEVER SAID ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE ALTDEV. TCASII NEVER ACTIVATED AND IT APPEARED THERE WAS NO CONFLICT WITH ANY TFC. BEFORE WE MADE OUR INITIAL TURN AWAY FROM THE WX; I DID CHK THE TCASII AND DID SEE THAT THERE WERE NO ACFT SHOWING UP ON OUR TCASII AT OUR ALT OF 5000 FT FOR THE RANGE OF THE TCASII (20 MI). WE WERE EVENTUALLY CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 15 AT CHS AFTER WE WERE VECTORED BACK AROUND FOR THE FINAL APCH COURSE TO RWY 15. SHE THEN CLRED US TO TWR FREQ AND WE MADE A LNDG ON RWY 15. LOOKING BACK ON OUR SIT; IT HAS BECOME OBVIOUS THAT A CHAIN OF EVENTS LED TO OUR SIT. OBVIOUSLY WITH THE TSTMS IN THE AREA; AND THE LIGHTNING STRIKE OF THE RADAR SIGHT AS WELL AS THE HVY TFC LOAD; LED TO OUR MISUNDERSTANDING. BECAUSE OF SO MANY ACFT ON THE SAME FREQ IT BECAME NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH APCH; ESPECIALLY WHEN WE REALLY NEEDED TO AVOID THE LINE OF TSTMS. I BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT I INADVERTENTLY READ BACK ANOTHER ACFT'S CLRNC. IT SEEMED THAT THE CLRNC SHE HAD JUST READ WAS DIRECTED AT US BECAUSE JUST A SECOND BEFORE I HAD REQUESTED A TURN AWAY FROM THE WX; BUT THAT XMISSION WAS PROBABLY STEPPED ON BY ANOTHER PLT. THE READBACK THAT I GAVE TO APCH'S CLRNC TO A HDG OF 180 DEGS AND 3000 FT WAS ALSO PROBABLY STEPPED ON. SINCE APCH DID NOT RESPOND TO MY READBACK; WE THOUGHT IT WAS THE CORRECT CLRNC. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY PRUDENT IN A SIT AS BUSY AS WE WERE IN TO MAKE SURE THAT APCH'S CLRNC WAS DIRECTED AT US AND NOT ANOTHER ACFT. LIKE I SAID EARLIER; IT APPEARED THAT THERE WAS NO CONFLICT WITH ANY OTHER ACFT AND THAT THERE WAS VERY LITTLE TIME TO ASK THE CTLR WHERE THE MISUNDERSTANDING TOOK PLACE. SHE WAS VERY BUSY AND DID NOT SEEM VERY INTERESTED IN PURSUING THE ISSUE ANY FURTHER.