POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH XING CLBING TFC.

Narrative

COPLT FLYING; KIND OF A 'NERVOUS NELLIE'; ALSO LOW TIME IN SEAT. CLBING OUT OF NEW YORK GOING TO DCA. LEVEL AT 16000; CTLR CLRED US DIRECT TO SBJ. WE DID NOT TURN; CONTINUED ON PRESENT HDG WHICH WAS ABOUT 20 DEGS OFF OF DIRECT SBJ. I WAS NOT AWARE WE HAD BEEN CLRED DIRECT SBJ AS I WAS DOING MY NORMAL 'ABOVE 10000' DUTIES SUCH AS PAX PA'S AND CALLING IN TIMES TO COMPANY. CTLR ASKED WERE WE GOING TO SBJ? COPLT MOUTHED EXPLETIVE AND TURNED TO SBJ. CAPT SAID WE WERE NOW GOING DIRECT. CTLR SAID OK; NOW CLB TO FL180 AND 'THERE IS VFR TFC AT 17500 AT 10 O'CLOCK CONVERGING. WE SAID OK; LOOKING; AND STARTED OUR CLB. TCASII STARTED SAYING 'TFC; TFC'. WE SAW TARGET ON TCASII; PAINTING 17500 AT OUR 10:30-11 O'CLOCK. TCASII THEN WENT TO RESOLUTION MODE; COMMANDING DSND; DSND AND SHOWING A REQUIRED 2000 FPM DSCNT. CAPT TOOK OVER; PUSHED NOSE OVER AND WE DSNDED TO 16000 FT. NEVER VISUALLY SAW TFC BUT AT ONE POINT THE SCREEN SHOWED WE WERE AT EQUAL ALTS AT ABOUT 1 MI SEPARATION. TCASII THEN SHOWED CLR OF CONFLICT. WE ADVISED CTLR WHAT WE HAD DONE AND RESUMED CLB TO 18000. SO HOW DID IT HAPPEN AND WHY? COPLT MISSED THE TURN; AND CAPT DID NOT MONITOR WHAT COPLT WAS DOING. COPLT KIND OF NERVOUS TYPE AND LOW TIME; TRYING TO BE PERFECT; AND HIS NERVOUSNESS COMPOUNDED BY THE FAIRLY AUTOCRATIC CAPT. CAPT HAD BEEN 'INSTRUCTING' HIM SOMEWHAT; WHICH I THINK HE RESENTED. NOT TOO GOOD LEVEL OF COM BTWN SEATS. MY ROLE IS TO MONITOR WHAT THE PLTS ARE DOING; ALSO. IT'S VERY COMMON AT THIS TIME OF THE FLT; HOWEVER; (JUST ABOVE 10000 FT ON THE CLBOUT); FOR ME TO BE 'HEAD DOWN' AND NOT MONITORING ATC; AS I DO MY OTHER DUTIES. I DID NOT KNOW WE HAD BEEN CLRED DIRECT AS I HAD BEEN OFF THE RADIO WHEN THAT CLRNC WAS GIVEN. I TRY HARD TO STAY IN THE LOOP BUT AT CERTAIN TIMES IT IS NOT POSSIBLE. THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE TIMES; AND IT RESULTED IN A MIDAIR. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 262277: I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE NAV ERROR CONTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO THIS NEAR MISS; HOWEVER I BELIEVE IT IS VERY PROBABLE THAT IT DID. THE FAILURE TO SET THE PROPER FREQ TO THE SOLBERG VOR EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO ME TO BE EVER VIGILANT ABOUT XCHKING. MORE SO IN THE HIGH DENSITY TFC AREAS LIKE NEW YORK; AND ALSO WHERE MANEUVERING ABD ALT CLRNCS OCCUR RAPIDLY. I AM DOUBTFUL ABOUT THE FACT THAT VFR TFC SHOULD HAVE BEEN PERMISSIBLE IN THE FLT CONDITIONS EXISTING AT THAT TIME AND PLACE.