ACR B737 PIC INITIATES EVASIVE MANEUVER DUE TO OBSERVED GLIDER IN IMMEDIATE AREA. GLIDER SEES B737 AT CLOSE DISTANCE AND INITIATES EVASIVE MANEUVER INTO; NOT AWAY FROM DSNDING B737. FLT ATTENDANT INJURED. TFC ISSUED BY ATC.

Date: 1998-07 · Aircraft: B737-300

Anomalies: conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far

Synopsis

ACR B737 PIC INITIATES EVASIVE MANEUVER DUE TO OBSERVED GLIDER IN IMMEDIATE AREA. GLIDER SEES B737 AT CLOSE DISTANCE AND INITIATES EVASIVE MANEUVER INTO; NOT AWAY FROM DSNDING B737. FLT ATTENDANT INJURED. TFC ISSUED BY ATC.

Narrative

WX WAS CAVU DSNDING INTO PHX AREA. ALT WAS JUST BELOW 12000 FT WHEN PHX APCH CTL ADVISED OF 'TFC 12 O'CLOCK POS; ALT UNKNOWN.' FO WAS FLYING. WE LOOKED FOR THE TFC UP AND DOWN FOR AT LEAST 30 SECONDS WHEN I SPOTTED A GLIDER JUST ABOVE US TO OUR L AND HDG STRAIGHT AT US. I PUSHED THE AIRPLANE DOWN AND TO THE R. THE SEAT BELT SIGN HAD BEEN ON FOR SEVERAL MINS ALREADY. THE PURSER ADVISED THAT IN FIRST CLASS; THE MANEUVER WAS A 'ZERO G' EFFECT. THE EFFECT IN THE AFT CABIN WAS UNDOUBTEDLY MORE PRONOUNCED.THE GLIDER PLT FINALLY SAW OUR B737-300 AND BEGAN AN EVASIVE; PANIC MANEUVER DOWN AND TO THE R. MY DSNDING TURN TO THE R PLACED MY L WING UP SLIGHTLY. THE GLIDER'S DSNDING R WING PLACED HIS R WING DOWN. OUR WINGS PROBABLY CAME WITHIN 10-20 FT OF EACH OTHER. THE GLIDER EVIDENTLY DIDN'T HAVE A XPONDER. HIS EVASIVE MANEUVER WAS ACTUALLY IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR AIRLINER AND WAS A MISTAKE. IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN BETTER IF THE PANIC MANEUVER WAS A PULL UP INSTEAD OF A PUSH DOWN. I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE PUSHED FORWARD SO HARD IF HE'D PULLED UP. 1 FLT ATTENDANT IN THE REAR CABIN WAS INJURED AND WAS TAKEN TO A PHOENIX HOSPITAL AND RELEASED THE NEXT DAY. WE ASKED FOR; AND WERE MET BY; ARPT FIRE DEPT MEDICS. I NEVER SAW AN AMBULANCE.

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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.