A319 FLT CREW EXPERIENCES LOSS OF COM DUE TO STATIC IN CONVECTIVE WX NEAR ORD.

Narrative

STATIC RADIOS -- ON APCH INTO ORD THERE WAS WX ON THE JVL 4 ARR; WE WERE VECTORED N AND WENT THROUGH SOME GREEN AND YELLOW ECHOES. AS WE ENTERED THE WX THE RADIOS BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE STATIC. WE PASSED THROUGH THE WX AND THE RADIOS ONCE MORE BECAME CLR. ENG AND WING ANTI-ICE WAS ON THE ENTIRE TIME. AS WE WERE VECTORED FOR THE APCH WE ENTERED GREEN/YELLOW ECHO WX AGAIN AND BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE RIME ICE. IMMEDIATELY THE RADIOS BEGAN TO GET LOUD WITH STATIC AND ATC XMISSIONS WERE DIFFICULT TO HEAR AND AT ONE POINT UNABLE TO HEAR AT ALL. I XMITTED TO ATC THAT WE WERE UNABLE TO HEAR THEIR XMISSIONS DUE TO THE STATIC. I SELECTED RADIO #2 AND NO IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATIC; RADIO XMISSIONS STILL VERY HARD TO HEAR. AS WE EXITED THE WX THE RADIOS BECAME CLR ONCE MORE AND I TOLD ATC THAT WE WOULD REQUIRE VECTORS CLR OF WX TO AVOID LOSING COM CONTACT. THE CTLR COMPLIED AND WE MADE AN APCH TO RWY 9R IN VMC WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENT. ON THE GND THE MECHS CAME TO THE AIRPLANE AND I GAVE THEM A THOROUGH BRIEFING. I STEPPED AWAY TO THE TERMINAL AND WHEN I CAME BACK THE MECHS WERE GONE AND THE AIRPLANE CLRED OF RADIO PROBS WITH A BYTE TEST INDICATING NO PROBS FOUND. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE PROB HAS BEEN FIXED AND THINK THE AIRPLANE IS STILL OPERATING UNSAFELY! PREVIOUS MECHS HAVE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT ANTENNA FAILURE IS THE PRIMARY PROB IN THIS TYPE OF OCCURRENCE. BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN MANY AIRBUSES WITH THIS TYPE OF RADIO STATIC I BELIEVE THERE IS AN INHERENT PROB WITH THE ANTENNAS AND OR RADIOS WHILE OPERATING IN LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN. A SERIOUS FLT INCIDENT COULD OCCUR FROM LACK OF ADEQUATE COM DUE TO THIS ANOMALY.