C172 AND PA28 HAD NMAC WHEN CHEROKEE PLT MADE AN APCH TO THE WRONG ARPT.

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I AM A PVT PLT WITH 208 TOTAL HRS FLYING TIME. I STARTED FLYING IN THE LCL MIAMI AREA IN JANUARY OF 1998 AND RECEIVED A CHK RIDE THAT SAME MONTH. MY TOTAL FLYING EXPERIENCE IN THE MIAMI AREA AS PIC IS LESS THAN 20 HRS. ON AUG/SAT/98; I RENTED AN AIRPLANE FROM OPA LOCKA ARPT TO TAKE A VISITING FRIEND FLYING AROUND THE LCL AREA. THE WX WAS VMC; WITH RPTED CONVECTION ACTIVITY TO THE W OF THE ARPT THAT WAS PIREP AS NO THREAT TO LCL OPS. OUR DEP FROM OPF WAS WITHOUT INCIDENT; AND OUR FLT PATH TOOK US AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE MIAMI CLASS B AIRSPACE; WITH OUR ALT IN THE LCL AREA BEING BTWN 1500 FT AND 800 FT MSL; FLYING OVER THE MIAMI BEACH AND SURROUNDING AREAS. AFTER APPROX 1 1/2 HRS OF FLYING I INITIATED A FINAL LEG APCH INTO OPF; RWY 27R; AFTER HAVING RECEIVED THE ATIS INFO; AND CALLING OPF TWR FOR ADVISORIES. I WAS 7 NM DUE E FROM THE ARPT; HDG 270 DEGS AT 1000 FT MSL; WHEN THE OPF TWR RPTED THAT AN ACFT; A PA28; WAS BEHIND ME; HDG 270 DEGS AND AT 1400 FT MSL. I INITIATED A CLRING TURN TO THE L TO TRY TO ASCERTAIN THE POS OF THE UNKNOWN ACFT. OPF TWR HAD RPTED THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE 2-WAY RADIO COMS ESTABLISHED WITH THE ACFT. OPF COMMUNICATED NO FURTHER ADVISORIES REGARDING THE ACFT. I CONTINUED MY DSCNT INTO OPF ON A HDG OF 270 DEGS TO RWY 27R; WITHOUT HAVING ESTABLISHED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE UNKNOWN ACFT. AFTER DSNDING THROUGH 800 FT MSL AN ACFT APPEARED ABOVE MY WINDSCREEN; HDG 270 DEGS; WITH APPROX 75 FT VERT DISTANCE BTWN US. THE ACFT BROKE R; DSNDING; WITH APPROX 75 FT HORIZ DISTANCE BTWN US. THE ACFT CONTINUED A DSCNT TO MY R TURNING AWAY FROM MY AIRPLANE. UPON SEEING THE ACFT INITIALLY ABOVE ME I BROKE INTO A DSNDING TURN TO THE L. I LEVELED OFF AT AROUND 500 FT MSL TO SEE THE ACFT MAKING ITS TURNS TO THE R AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. OPF TWR CAME OVER THE RADIO AND ASKED WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED; AND RPTED THAT MIAMI APCH HAD RPTED A NEAR MISS ON THEIR RADAR. I RPTED TO OPF TWR THAT A NEAR MISS HAD JUST OCCURRED AND ASKED CONFIRMATION WITH OPF TWR THAT THIS WAS THE ACFT INITIALLY RPTED AS BEING 1400 FT MSL BEHIND ME IN THEIR EARLIER COM. OPF CONFIRMED; AND I CONTINUED MY DSCNT INTO OPF RWY 27R WITHOUT INCIDENT AFTER ESTABLISHING THAT THE UNKNOWN ACFT WAS OF NO FURTHER THREAT. OPF TWR STATED THAT MIAMI CTLRS HAD THE ACFT TAGGED FOR AN INBOUND APCH INTO MIA INTL RWY 27R; BUT THAT THE ACFT HAD APPARENTLY CALLED OPF RWY 27R IN SIGHT; THINKING THAT OPF WAS MIA. MIA RPTED THAT IT HAD; AT ALL TIMES; 2-WAY COMS ESTABLISHED WITH THE ACFT. THE PROB AROSE IN SEVERAL RESPECTS: 1) I; AS PIC; FAILED TO ESTABLISH VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE ACFT; 2) THE UNKNOWN ACFT FAILED TO ESTABLISH VISUAL CONTACT WITH ME; 3) THE UNKNOWN ACFT FAILED TO ESTABLISH VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE CORRECT ARPT; 4) MIA CTLRS FAILED TO ASCERTAIN THAT THE ACFT WAS SETTING UP A FINAL ON OPF RWY 27R; RATHER THAN MIA RWY 27R FOR WHICH IT WAS CONFIRMED CLRED TO LAND; 5) THE UNKNOWN ACFT FAILED TO CLB UPON ESTABLISHING VISUAL CONTACT WITH ME AT AN ALT OF LESS THAN 100 FT BTWN US; INSTEAD THE UNKNOWN ACFT DSNDED IN AN IMPROPER ATTEMPT TO AVOID COLLISION. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS MAY HAVE BEEN: 1) MY INEXPERIENCE IN THE LCL MIAMI AREA; 2) FLT INSTRUCTORS TEACHING STUDENTS IN THE LCL AREA TO AVOID ENTERING MIA CLASS B AIRSPACE SO AS TO AVOID ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING 2-WAY RADIO COMS WHEN CONDUCTING LCL FLTS; 3) THE UNKNOWN ACFT'S PLT FAILING TO RECOGNIZE MIA ARPT; 4) THE UNKNOWN ACFT PERFORMING UNSAFE MANEUVERS. THE PROB WAS DISCOVERED ALMOST TOO LATE. WITH CLASS B AIRSPACE SURROUNDING THE ENTIRE AREA; IT SHOULD FOLLOW THAT WITH ACFT FLYING MODE C; THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. I MADE EVASIVE ACTIONS; WITH THE UNKNOWN ACFT FOLLOWING. I WAS FLYING A HIGH WING ACFT; WITH AN UNKNOWN LOW WING ACFT ABOVE ME; THE PERFECT SET-UP FOR A MIDAIR COLLISION. HUMAN PERFORMANCE FACTORS: 1) I WAS PREPARED FOR THE FLT THAT DAY; BUT MY INEXPERIENCE IN THE LCL AREA MAY HAVE ADDED TO MY ANXIETY OF FLYING WITH A NEW PAX; 2) I FELT I ACTED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE TRAINING I HAD RECEIVED; 3) I DID NOT THINK OTHER POSSIBLE OUTCOMES; INCLUDING THE DANGER OF SUCH A NEAR MISS; UNTIL AFTER I HAD LANDED AT OPF. I AM STILL UNCERTAIN IF I SHOULD HAVE DECLARED AN 'EMER.' IN FUTURE LCL FLTS; NO MATTER THE DURATION; I WILL INITIATE AND MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH ZMA; AND I WILL SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER LCL PLTS TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO THE SAME.