SMA PLT HAD NMAC WITH C172 IN ZSE CLASS E AIRSPACE.

Narrative

WE WERE INBOUND TO OUR HOME ARPT; 15 MI OUT; WHEN CTR CALLED UNIDENTED TFC; 12 O'CLOCK; 2 MI; SAME DIRECTION; 1500 FT BELOW OUR ALT. IT WAS A PERFECTLY CLR NIGHT; BUT NEITHER MY PAX NOR ME COULD FIND THE TARGET. THERE WERE MANY GND LIGHTS AHEAD THAT MAY HAVE OBSCURED THE OTHER ACFT'S LIGHTS. SHORTLY; I STARTED TO DSND; AND CTR RPTED RADAR CONTACT LOST. AS WE SWITCHED TO THE LCL ADVISORY FREQ; MY PAX RPTED THAT ANOTHER ACFT GOING THE 'OPPOSITE DIRECTION' HAD JUST PASSED BENEATH OUR R WING. I NEVER SAW THE OTHER ACFT. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY; A C172 FROM ONE OF THE LCL FLT SCHOOLS RPTED INBOUND ON THE CTAF FROM A POS VERY CLOSE TO OUR OWN. I THEN REALIZED THAT WE HAD OVERTAKEN AND PASSED THE 'UNIDENTED' TARGET AND THAT OUR MUCH HIGHER SPD HAD MADE MY PAX THINK WE WERE GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. THOUGH WE WERE BOTH LOOKING OUT AT ALL TIMES; IT WAS ONLY LUCK THAT PREVENTED A COLLISION. THERE ARE AT LEAST 3 THINGS THAT COULD HAVE REDUCED THE DANGER OF THIS SIT. 1) I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT THE TFC AHEAD MAY HAVE BEEN SLOWER. IF I HAD CHANGED COURSE BY 30 DEGS FOR A FEW MI BEFORE TURNING IN TOWARD THE ARPT; I WOULD HAVE AVOIDED COMING UP RAPIDLY BEHIND TFC I COULDN'T SEE. 2) IF CTR CTLRS HAD NOTED THAT WE WERE RAPIDLY OVERTAKING THE TFC AHEAD; I WOULD NOT HAVE DSNDED BEFORE LOCATING IT. THEY GAVE US NO INFO ABOUT OUR RELATIVE GND SPDS. 3) THE SINGLE WHITE TAIL LIGHT ON MANY SMALL GA ACFT IS VIRTUALLY USELESS TO TRAILING ACFT WHEN DSNDING TOWARD A BRIGHTLY LIT CITY. I DON'T KNOW IF THE OTHER ACFT WAS OPERATING A BEACON LIGHT; BUT I SUSPECT THAT BETTER ANTI-COLLISION LIGHTING (STROBES) WOULD HAVE ALLOWED US TO SPOT THE OTHER PLANE AND AVOID THE CLOSE ENCOUNTER.