C208 PILOT REPORTS NMAC WITH METROLINER WHILE ON VISUAL APPROACH TO RWY 32 AT SLC.
Synopsis
C208 PILOT REPORTS NMAC WITH METROLINER WHILE ON VISUAL APPROACH TO RWY 32 AT SLC.
Narrative
I PREVIOUSLY WAS CLRED FOR THE CARGO 1 VISUAL APCH BY SLC APCH. SWITCHED TO SLC TWR RIGHT AROUND DOGGY INTXN AND WAS FOLLOWING THE PRESCRIBED ROUTING. AS IS CUSTOMARY; RIGHT AROUND AMANA INTXN; TWR TOLD ME TO ADVISE WHEN I WOULD BE ABLE TO TURN BASE FOR RWY 32; WHICH I DID. (VERY RARELY IS THE FULL PROC FOLLOWED.) TWR TOLD ME ABOUT TFC ON FINAL FOR RWY 35; AND I RESPONDED THAT I WAS LOOKING INTO THE SUN AND PROBABLY WOULDN'T GET VISUAL ON TFC. TWR TOLD ME TO START THE BASE; THEN CHANGED HIS MIND AND TOLD ME TO CONTINUE S FOR ANOTHER MI BEFORE TURNING BASE; WHICH I DID. SOMETIME AROUND HERE I WAS TOLD TO SWITCH TO TWR ON 118.30; AND WAS TOLD OF OTHER TFC. ONCE AGAIN I RESPONDED THAT I COULDN'T SEE TFC BECAUSE OF THE SUN. I WAS CLRED TO LAND ON RWY 32 AND THEN TOLD THAT TFC WAS AT 1 O'CLOCK POS. I THEN HAD A BRIEF TERRIFYING GLIMPSE OF A METROLINER THAT SEEMED TO BE LESS THAN 50 FT OFF MY R; IN A SHARP BANK TURN TO AVOID ME. 'WHOA; YEAH; THERE HE IS!' WAS MY RESPONSE TO TWR. THERE WAS NO TIME FOR ME TO TAKE ANY EVASIVE MANEUVER BY THE TIME I SAW THE METROLINER. ANOTHER PLT; WHO WAS NEXT IN LINE ON THE CARGO 1; LATER TOLD ME THAT HE HEARD (WHILE STILL ON FREQ 120.2); THAT THE PLT OF THE METRO; HAD TOLD TWR THAT HE HAD ME IN SIGHT AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO FOLLOW MY ACFT. (PERHAPS THAT CAN BE CORROBORATED ON THE TAPES.) I LANDED AND THE TWR APOLOGIZED TO ME; BUT I WAS PRETTY SHAKEN UP AND I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER WHAT THE MAN SAID EXCEPT THAT THE METROLINER WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE TURNED THE OTHER WAY. A VERY SIMILAR EVENT (THOUGH NOT NEARLY AS CLOSE) OCCURRED A FEW MONTHS AGO TO ME WITH A BEECH 99 IN ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME PLACE AND I KNOW THAT OTHER PLTS HAVE HAD OTHER CLOSE CALLS. THE OTHER CARGO OPERATORS WHO HAVE SIGNED ON TO THE CARGO 1 ALMOST NEVER USE IT; INSTEAD CANCELING THEIR IFR FLT PLANS TO GET INTO SLC. MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT THOSE PLTS USUALLY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE PROC BECAUSE FEW OF THEIR ACFT ARE GPS-EQUIPPED. ONE OF THE PROBS WITH THIS CARGO 1 VERSUS VFR SITUATION IS THAT YOU HAVE VERY FAST AIRPLANES; SUCH AS METROLINERS; CANCELING IFR AND THEN MIXING IT UP WITH MUCH SLOWER CARAVANS; AND I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE WISDOM OF THAT. BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS WHY ACFT ON IFR FLT PLANS; CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH; ARE NOT BEING GIVEN SEPARATION AS REQUIRED IN FAR 5-5-11B3. PERHAPS SLC CTLRS SHOULD BE REMINDED THAT IFR TFC IS THE PRIORITY AND CARGO OPERATORS SHOULD EITHER ALL USE THE CARGO 1; OR NONE SHOULD. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE CARGO 1 WAS CREATED TO EASE THE WORKLOAD ON CONTROLLERS DURING PEAK ARRIVAL TIMES FOR RWY 32 BUT IS NOT MANDATORY. SOME OF THE ACFT; NOTABLY THE FASTER ONES; ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH GPS. THE TOWER NEEDS TO TAKE MORE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEPARATION; EVEN WHEN THE FLT CREW CLAIMS THEY HAVE TRAFFIC IN SIGHT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.