CJ3 SINGLE PILOT EXPERIENCES A TCAS TA ON DEPARTURE FROM LAS FOLLOWED BY A VISUAL ACQUISITION OF A SECOND AIRCRAFT ON A COLLISION COURSE. SINGLE PLT OVERSHOOTS HIS ASSIGNED ALTITUDE AND CITES NUMEROUS NON-STANDARD EVENTS AS CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.

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I WAS ASSIGNED A RETURN FLT FROM LAS TO THE ACFT HOME BASE ZZZ. THE FLT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR AN XF00 DEP. I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL AROUND XA20 INDICATING THAT MY PAX; ONE OF WHICH WAS THE CEO OF THE COMPANY AND I HAD NEVER BEFORE FLOWN; WANTED TO LEAVE EARLIER; AROUND XC00 INSTEAD. I WAS RUSHED GETTING CHKED OUT OF MY HOTEL ROOM; ARRANGING A RIDE TO THE ARPT; COORDINATING THE PULL-UP OF MY ACFT; FUELING; CATERING; ETC; BEFORE XC00. THE FBO AND ARPT WERE VERY BUSY AND THEY INDICATED TO ME I WAS #5 IN LINE FOR FUEL AND THEY DID NOT KNOW WHEN THE PLANE WOULD BE PULLED UP; BUT I COULD NOT DEPART FROM WHERE IT WAS PARKED DUE TO OTHER ACFT IN CLOSE PROX TO MINE. I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL INDICATING MY PAX HAD ARRIVED AT THE FBO AT XB45. I HAD RECEIVED FUEL AT THIS POINT BUT NOTHING ELSE FOR THE ACFT (COFFEE; ICE OR NEWSPAPERS) NOR MY IFR CLRNC. I HAD BEEN TRYING TO OBTAIN THE CLRNC FOR OVER 20 MINS BY THEN. I FINALLY RECEIVED THE CLRNC WHILE THE ACFT WAS BEING TOWED TO A BETTER LOCATION AS I RODE INSIDE. I ASKED THE LINE SVC MAN FOR A GPU AND TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE OTHER ITEMS REQUESTED WHILE I WENT INSIDE THE FBO TO GREET THE PAX. I RETURNED TO THE ACFT WITH THE PAX AROUND XC15 AND LOADED THEIR BAGGAGE. THE PAX WERE VISIBLY AND VERBALLY FRUSTRATED WITH THE DELAY AND I WAS TRYING TO MOVE QUICKLY TO MINIMIZE ANY FURTHER DELAY. THE CEO CHOSE TO SIT IN THE COPLT'S SEAT FOR THE FLT; AS I WAS FLYING AS A SINGLE PLT. I STARTED THE ENGS AND WAS READY TO TAXI WHEN I REMEMBER SETTING THE ALT ALERTER AS PER THE CHKLIST. I THEN OBTAINED A CLRNC TO TAXI TO RWY 1L BRAVO INTXN VIA HOTEL. I COMMENCED THE TAXI AND REVIEWED THE DEP PROC (TRALR2 RNAV) WHILE STOPPED MULTIPLE TIMES ENRTE TO RWY 1L DUE TO OTHER ACFT IN FRONT OF US. I NOTED ON THE BRIEFING STRIP THE ASSIGNED ALT OF FL190 AND SET FL190 IN THE ALT ALERTER. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT ALT WAS PREVIOUSLY SET IN THE ALERTER. OUR AIRPLANE WAS CLRED FOR TKOF AROUND XC39; TWR ISSUED THE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAINTAIN VISUAL ON PRECEDING TFC AND A R TURN TO 050 DEGS. NO MENTION WAS MADE ABOUT MY ASSIGNED ALT; I STILL ASSUMED FL190 AS PER THE TRALR2 RNAV DEP. TKOF AND INITIAL DEP WERE NORMAL AND UNEVENTFUL. I WAS HANDED OVER TO DEP CTL AND CHKED IN '...4000 FT; CLBING FL190 ON A 050 DEG HDG.' ATC ACKNOWLEDGED AND SHORTLY AFTER CLRED MY FLT 'DIRECT TRALR.' I ACKNOWLEDGED DIRECT TRALR; PROGRAMMED THE FMS TO COMPLY AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER NOTED OUR CLB RATE COMPARED TO OUR PRECEDING TFC; WE WERE OUT-CLBING THEM. ABOUT THAT SAME TIME I RECEIVED A TA FROM TCASI; I NOTED THE TFC ON THE TCAS DISPLAY AND SAW +900 NEXT TO THE THREAT; INDICATING THE TFC WAS 900 FT HIGHER THAN OUR ACFT. IT DID NOT MAKE SENSE FOR OUR PRECEDING TFC TO BE ABOVE US; SO I BEGAN SCANNING OUTSIDE AND ACQUIRED ANOTHER ACFT ON A COLLISION COURSE; THOUGH SLIGHTLY HIGHER; HEADING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. I NOTED THE CONFLICTING TFC TO MY R SEAT PAX AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DECREASED THE ACFT'S RATE OF CLB POSSIBLY EVEN DSNDING SLIGHTLY. FROM THE MOMENT I ACQUIRED THE CONFLICTING TFC UNTIL WE HAD PASSED EACH OTHER WAS NO MORE THAN 4-5 SECONDS. I ESTIMATE PASSING BELOW THE CONFLICT BY 300-400 FT VERTICALLY. DEP CTL WAS STILL SATURATED WITH CALLS AND MY R SEAT PAX AND I EXCHANGED A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CONFLICT SO ANOTHER 20 SECONDS WENT BY UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO TELL ATC ABOUT THE NMAC. HE ASKED TO VERIFY WHAT ALT I WAS ASSIGNED AND I READ BACK FL190. HE SAID I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED 7000 FT MSL. I IMMEDIATELY ASKED WHAT ALT HE WOULD LIKE US AT NOW AND HE SAID CONTINUE THE CLB TO FL190. THE CTLR GAVE ME A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL UPON LNDG; WHICH I COMPLIED WITH. LIKE MOST ACCIDENTS; THERE IS USUALLY A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT ADD UP AND CONSPIRE AGAINST THE UNWARY; THIS NEAR ACCIDENT IS NO DIFFERENT. I FELT RUSHED FROM THE BEGINNING. I HAVE BEEN IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS BEFORE; HOWEVER; SELDOM AS A SINGLE PLT; I USUALLY HAVE HAD ANOTHER PLT TO HELP AND DIVIDE THE WORK WITH. I KNEW THAT COMING IN; AND ALWAYS ARRIVE TO THE ARPT WITH AMPLE TIME REMAINING BEFORE THE PAX SHOW. THIS TIME I DID NOT HAVE THAT LUXURY. I FELT NERVOUS HAVING TO 'PROVE' MYSELF TO THE CEO THAT I WAS AS CAPABLE AS THE CHIEF PLT WHOM HAD FLOWN THE CEO BEFORE ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. ON OBTAINING MY IFR CLRNC; I WROTE DOWN THE ASSIGNED ALT OF 7000 FT BUT SECOND-GUESSED MYSELF WHEN I SUDDENLY HAD TOO MUCH TIME TO STUDY THE DEP ON MY MULTIPLE STOPS WHILE TAXIING AND THEN SET FL190 INTO THE ALT ALERTER; THOUGHTLESSLY DISMISSING MY ORIGINAL CLRNC. WHEN ASSIGNING RNAV DEPS (OR ANY DEPS); ATC SHOULD NOT DEVIATE FROM THE ORIGINAL TEXT UNTIL AFTER AIRBORNE TO ELIMINATE CONFUSION. MY UNDERSTANDING FOR RNAV SIDS/STARS IS TO MINIMIZE CTLR INPUT AND ALLOWING PLTS/ACFT TO COMPLY WITH ALT AND LATERAL NAV RESTRS INDEPENDENTLY; THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE CASE. ALSO; IF TWR HAD VERIFIED MY ALT WHEN CLRING US FOR TKOF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 1 MORE CHK AND 'WAKE-UP' FOR MYSELF OR ANY OTHER PLT IN A SIMILAR SITUATION. FINALLY; IF DEP CTL HAD TRULY HEARD MY (INCORRECTLY) ASSIGNED ALT; THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TIME TO CORRECT IT.