C177 IN TFC PATTERN AT CMA EXPERIENCED CONFLICT AFTER AN ATC DIRECTED TURN TO BASE LEG FOLLOWED BY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONABLE ATC ACTIONS.

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I WAS INSTRUCTING ANOTHER PLT IN XWIND APCHS AND LNDGS AT THE CMA ARPT. ON DEP I HEARD A MALIBU RPTING IN TO TWR WITH THE NUMBERS AND REQUESTING LNDG INSTRUCTIONS. WE MADE A NORMAL ENTRY TO DOWNWIND AT APPROX 900 FT AGL. AS WE APCHED LOS POSAS ROAD; THE TWR CALLED A MALIBU AT 1 MI. BOTH MYSELF AND THE PF LOOKED AND DID NOT SEE THE MALIBU. MY ASSUMPTION WAS THAT THE MALIBU WAS BEHIND US AND OVER THE OVERRUN FOR THE RWY. THIS SEEMED REASONABLE BASED UPON THE EARLIER XMISSION I HAD HEARD. THE PF CALLED TWR AND STATED THAT SHE DID NOT SEE THE MALIBU. THE TWR CAME BACK QUICKLY AND SAID; 'TURN BASE NOW' WHICH SHE DUTIFULLY DID. AFTER THE 90 DEG TURN; THE PF STILL DID NOT SEE THE MALIBU AND STARTED A PRECAUTIONARY TURN TO THE R. AT THIS TIME I SAW THE MALIBU AHEAD AND TO MY R DSNDING. I ESTIMATED WE WERE APPROX 500 FT LATERAL AND 100 FT VERT FROM EACH OTHER. AT THAT TIME WE WERE ALREADY IN A TURN AWAY FROM THE TFC SO THERE WAS NO DANGER OF A COLLISION. HAD THE PF NOT INITIATED A TURN WHEN SHE DID; WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE TAKEN IMMEDIATE AND VIOLENT EVASIVE ACTION WITHIN THE NEXT 3-5 SECONDS OR HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MIDAIR COLLISION. BOTTOM LINE: THE TWR TURNED US DIRECTLY INTO THE MALIBU. ON ANOTHER APCH; THE TWR CALLED AN ACFT HOLDING IN POS TO INFORM HIM THAT A BONANZA WAS 4 MI OUT. WE HAD BEEN CLRED TO LAND AND WERE ABOUT 1 MI OUT TURNING FINAL. OBVIOUSLY; THE TWR DIDN'T KNOW WHERE WE WERE AS HE NEVER NOTIFIED THE HOLDING ACFT OF OUR LOCATION. ON OUR FINAL APCH AND LNDG WE HAD BEEN CLRED TO LAND AND WERE TURNING BASE TO FINAL WHEN THE TWR CALLED US TO EXTEND OUR DOWNWIND AND THAT HE'D CALL THE TURN TO CASE. (OBVIOUSLY TWR AGAIN DIDN'T NOW WHERE WE WERE.) THE PF IMMEDIATELY CALLED OUR POS AND TWR TOLD US TO CONTINUE. I WAS CONCERNED AND COMMENTED THAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO GO AROUND AND WENT OVER THE PROC QUICKLY. FORTUNATELY THE ACFT HOLDING STARTED MOVING AND AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG WAS MADE. BASED ON THE ABOVE; IT IS MY OPINION THAT THE TWR CTLR DID NOT HAVE A CLR PICTURE OF THE TFC IN THE AREA THAT HE WAS CHARGED WITH CTLING. THIS COULD HAVE RESULTED IN TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES WITH ME BEING PART OF THE 'TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES.' NOT A PLEASANT PROSPECT.