A C172 PLT; WHILE ON APCH TO CXY; HAD AN NMAC WITH ANOTHER SMALL ACFT.

Narrative

INCIDENT OF NOV/XA/01 AT XA30 OCCURRED IN CLASS D AIRSPACE OF CXY WHICH IS INSIDE A TRSA; RADAR INOP AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. NO TRSA SVCS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME. I WAS GIVEN A STRAIGHT-IN APCH TO RWY 30 FROM 10 MI OUT. A STUDENT PLT; WHO WAS ALSO LNDG AT CXY; WAS UNSURE OF HIS POS AS HE APCHED THE ARPT. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT; THE STUDENT WAS ON DOWNWIND TO RWY 30; BUT INSIDE THE 'NORMAL' PATTERN CONFIGN. WHILE ON DOWNWIND; THE STUDENT WAS UNSURE OF A LCL RPTING POINT (THE 'TURNPIKE BRIDGE' WHICH SEPARATES CXY AND MDT). BECAUSE OF TERRAIN AND PROX OF THE NEIGHBORING MDT AIRSPACE AND TMI NUCLEAR PLANT; I WAS A BIT W OF THE CTRLINE OF RWY 30. THE STUDENT RPTED BEING OVER THE TURNPIKE BRIDGE AT THE SAME TIME WE WERE XING IT AND HE PASSED ABOUT 300 FT DIRECTLY OVERHEAD. I GOT THE SENSE THAT THE TWR WAS UNSURE OF EVERYONE'S POS. IN HINDSIGHT; THE BEST REMEDY WOULD HAVE BEEN TO HAVE ME COMPLETE A MORE NORMAL PATTERN (PERHAPS ENTERING A L BASE); RATHER THAN SET UP FOR A STRAIGHT-IN APCH TO 30 MI FROM 10 MI OUT. THE STUDENT HAD PREVIOUSLY TOLD THE TWR THAT THIS WAS HIS FIRST SOLO AWAY FROM THE PATTERN AND IT WAS CLR THAT HE WAS UNSURE OF HIS POS. I SHOULD HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT I WAS NOT IN A GOOD POS TO EXECUTE A STRAIGHT-IN TO RWY 30. WITH RADAR OUT AND THE CLR CONFUSION ON THE PART OF THE STUDENT; THE TWR MIGHT HAVE ASKED FOR BETTER POS RPTS FROM THE REST OF US APCHING TO LAND. I BELIEVE THAT ALL PARTIES (STUDENT; TWR AND ME) HAD SOME CONTRIBUTION TO THE SIT (RADAR WAS OUT; STUDENT WAS CONFUSED; AND I WAS JUST A BIT W OF CTRLINE). THIS WAS A GOOD WAKE-UP CALL TO BE MORE VIGILANT; EVEN UNDER 'POSITIVE' CTL. UNFORTUNATELY (BASED ON HIS CONVERSATION ON THE GND AFTER LNDG); I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE STUDENT KNEW (OR ELSE DIDN'T CARE) THAT HE WAS AS CONFUSED AS HE WAS.