C182 AND A SAAB ACR SEE EACH OTHER ABOUT THE SAME TIME WHILE ENTERING THE DOWNWIND LEG AT AEX RESULTING IN AN NMAC.

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FLYING A C182 WITH 1 PAX I WAS APCHING ALEXANDRIA; LA; FROM THE ESE IN THE AFTERNOON. THE WX WAS VMC WITH HAZE AND SMOKE. ABOUT 8 NM OUT (VERIFIED ON MY LORAN C RECEIVER); I CONTACTED AEX TWR (NON RADAR). AFTER GIVING PERTINENT WX INFO; THE TWR CTLR INSTRUCTED ME TO RPT A 'R BASE RWY 32.' I REPEATED THE INSTRUCTION; BEGAN MY DSCNT FROM 2000 FT AND CHANGED MY HDG TO ABOUT 270 DEGS FROM 292 DEGS. WITHIN 30-40 SECONDS LATER; THE TWR CTLR INFORMED ME OF AN ARRIVING ACR Y FROM MEMPHIS; OF WHICH HE HAD BEEN INFORMED OF BY PHONE BY FORT POLK APCH CTL; TO BE 7 NM NE OF AEX. HE HIMSELF HAD NOT YET TALKED TO THE ACR Y. IMMEDIATELY; MY PAX AND I BEGAN TO LOOK FOR THE ACFT (SAAB) IN THE DIRECTION THE ACFT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE; MORE OR LESS FROM OUR NOSE TO OUR R AND BEHIND OUR ACFT. BY THAT TIME I WAS ABOUT 5.5 NM FROM AEX AT 1700 FT. SINCE THE TWR CTLR STILL HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED BY THE ACR Y; HE INSTRUCTED ME FURTHER TO CHANGE MY APCH TO A 'MIDFIELD R DOWNWIND ENTRY FOR RWY 32 AND TO EXPECT TO BE #2 TO LAND.' I ACKNOWLEDGED MY INSTRUCTIONS AND CHANGED MY HDG TO ABOUT 310 DEGS TO ACCOMMODATE THE INCOMING TFC; WHEN THE ACR Y CHKED IN ON THE FREQ WITH 'A VISUAL FOR RWY 32.' AFTER HAVING BEEN INFORMED OF OUR POS; AEX TWR 'CLRED ACR Y TO LAND RWY 32.' AT THAT MOMENT MY PAX AND I SAW THE ACR Y COMING RIGHT TOWARD US AT ABOUT A 1 - 1:30 O'CLOCK POS ON A SE HDG ABOUT 400 FT HIGH. IT APPEARED THE ACR Y PULLED UP AS I PUSHED THE NOSE OF MY PLANE DOWNWARD TO AVOID BEING RUN OVER. I BELIEVE HE SAW US AT THE SAME TIME BECAUSE HE RPTED TO THE TWR THAT HE HAD JUST FLOWN OVER A SMALL AIRPLANE. THE TWR CTLR REPLIED SOMETHING TO THE EXTENT THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE EITHER OF US WAS; AND CLRED HIM AGAIN TO LAND RWY 32. I ASKED HIM IF HE WANTED ME TO FOLLOW THE TFC OR TO CONTINUE PER HIS INSTRUCTIONS; UPON WHICH HE REPLIED TO FOLLOW THE TFC. UPON LNDG; I CALLED AEX TWR TO QUESTION THE CTLR ABOUT THE INCIDENT BECAUSE I FELT THAT BY FOLLOWING HIS SECOND INSTRUCTIONS; HE STEERED ME RIGHT INTO THE APCH PATH OF THE ACR Y. HE APOLOGIZED AND BLAMED IT ON A LACK OF COMS BTWN ALL PARTIES; IE; FORT POLK APCH CTL; ACR Y AND MYSELF; AND ALSO THE LACK OF ARPT RADAR.