POTENTIAL CONFLICT AVOIDED ON APCH AS OBS IN ACFT X SEES DEP TFC. THE SEE AND AVOID CONCEPT WORKS AFTER ALL!

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APPROX 25 MI E OF TJSJ WE ASKED FOR AN IFR CLRNC TO TJSJ AS WE COULD SEE THE BUILDING WX AND IMC CONDITIONS. WE WERE ADVISED THAT TJST WAS IMC. APCH CTL (120.9) CLRED OUR ACFT AND ASSIGNED OUR HDG AND ALT AS 260 DEGS AND 3000 FT. WE ASKED FOR A 20 DEG COURSE CHANGE TO AVOID WX; PER OUR RADAR; AND THE CHANGE WAS GRANTED. WE WERE GIVEN 2 ADDITIONAL VECTORS; 280 DEGS AND THEN 250 DEGS; AND FINALLY SWITCHED TO APCH (119.4). WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CHK IN WITH APCH (119.4) WE BECAME VMC AND OBSERVED A B727 AT APPROX 10 O'CLOCK; CLBING WITHIN 1/2 MI. WE TURNED HARD L TO AVOID B727. WE ADVISED ATC OF OUR ACTIONS AND RECEIVED A SUGGESTED ALT OF 3500 FT. WE ADVISED ATC THAT WE WERE ON AN IFR APCH AND HAD BEEN CLRED FOR SOME TIME. WE RECEIVED FURTHER VECTORS AND LANDED ON RWY 8 WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. ATTACHED IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE LCL PAPER DATED MAY/XX/95 WHICH STATES THAT A CERAP RADAR SYS WAS MALFUNCTIONING AT THE TIME OF THE HDOF TO APCH 119.4. AT NO TIME WERE WE ADVISED OF THE B727 TFC NOR DID WE HEAR THE B727 ON THE APCH FREQS THAT WE WERE ASSIGNED TO. WE HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ZSU FOLLOWING A HDOF FROM TISX AND WE WERE TURNED OVER TO APCH CTL SJU (120.9). AT NO TIME DID WE POP UP ON THE RADAR WITHOUT PROPER HDOFS FROM ZSU. THE ARTICLE CLRLY BLAMES THE CERAP RADAR. OBVIOUSLY WORKING RADAR AND ALERT ATC WOULD PREVENT FURTHER SIMILAR INCIDENTS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 305051: ON VFR FLT FROM ST. CROIX; USVI; TO SJU; PR; UTILIZING RADAR FLT FOLLOWING. MONITORED THAT SJU HAD GONE IFR IN RAIN. REQUESTED AND RECEIVED IFR CLRNC. WAS ON VECTOR AND HANDED OFF TO NEXT CTLR WHEN CREW MEMBER IN BACK CALLED CONVERGING TFC. TURNED TO AVOID TFC. ATTABOY TO BACKSEATER SPOTTING TFC.