WHILE ON A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 2; THE A319 CREW OBSERVED A CONVERGING DC9 ON THE L SIDE DSNDING FOR AN APCH TO RWY 34 RESULTING IN AN NMAC.

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INBOUND FROM LVL VOR TO RIC VOR; WE WERE CLRED TO 2000 FT AND DIRECT JESTY (RIC ILS RWY 2 FAF). ATC WAS ALSO WORKING ACR Y. THEIR LOCATION WAS W OF RIC; CLRED TO 3000 FT. RIC APCH ASKED IF WE HAD ACR Y IN SIGHT. WE HAD A CLOUD LAYER TO DSND THROUGH; BASES AT 4000 FT MSL. ACR Y HAD US IN SIGHT FIRST AND WAS CLRED FOR A VISUAL TO RIC RWY 34. ATC ASKED AGAIN IF WE HAD ACR Y IN SIGHT. WE DID; AND TOLD THEM SO. IT WAS A FEW MORE SECONDS BEFORE WE HAD RWY 2 IN SIGHT. AT THAT POINT; ATC CLRED US FOR A VISUAL APCH. SEPARATION WITH ACR Y AT THIS POINT WAS ABOUT 8 MI TO OUR L FRONT HORIZ; 1000 FT VERT. AS I KEPT AN EYE ON ACR Y; WE STARTED TO CONFIGURE THE ACFT TO FLAPS 2 DEGS AND 180 KTS. BEING ACR Y HAD TO CROSS OUR FINAL; MY EXPECTATION WAS FOR HIM TO MAINTAIN 3000 FT UNTIL PASSING THE RWY 2 CTRLINE ON HIS WAY TO RWY 34. WE DID NOT NOTICE THAT HE DSNDED UNTIL I SAW ON TCASII HE WAS 200 FT ABOVE AND ABOUT 1 1/2 - 2 MI TO OUR L ON A COLLISION. HE WAS STILL DSNDING. AT THIS POINT WE STILL HAD NOT RECEIVED A TCASII WARNING. WE STARTED EVASIVE ACTION BY CLBING TO 2500 FT. I LOST SIGHT OF ACR Y AS HE WENT UNDER OUR NOSE. AT THIS POINT I THOUGHT I HEARD A TA; BUT CAN'T BE 100% SURE. WE ALL HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES DURING A VISUAL APCH. BOTH CREW AND ATC EVEN THOUGH THEY LET US LOOSE. WITH 2 ACFT NOT FOLLOWING EACH OTHER; VERT SEPARATION MUST BE MAINTAINED UNTIL DIVERGING FROM EACH OTHER. WHEN ACR Y STARTED HIS DSCNT BEFORE PASSING OUR PATH HE BROKE VERT SEPARATION AND OUR EXPECTATION OF HIS ACTION. ATC SHOULD ALSO HAVE SEEN THAT THERE WAS A COLLISION COURSE. THEY (ATC) HAD SEPARATION WHEN WE BOTH ACCEPTED THE VISUAL APCH; STILL HAS A MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR THE SIT. LAST; WHY DIDN'T ACR Y NOR OURSELVES RECEIVE AN RA ON TCASII?