Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 4000; Flight Crew Type 1000
Communication Breakdown
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
I was the flight instructor conducting a training flight for a pilot who was upgrading to Captain. We had just performed a circling approach and entered a left pattern for Runway XX at an uncontrolled airport. The winds were out of the northwest. On short final I saw an airplane; which appeared to be a C172; at our 11 o'clock flying at us. We performed go-around and turned right. The C172 had turned left. We made all the proper radio calls on the appropriate frequency and did not hear anyone else in the pattern. After the evasive maneuver we tried to get a response from the other aircraft that we just avoided. We got a response after several radio calls to them. They claim that they were on frequency the whole time but it's apparent they weren't. This was a great lesson in 'see and avoid' when you are VFR. We fly VFR during passenger carrying operations in congested airspace quite often; and we make it a point to always have one pilot looking out the window when VFR. Specifically; we stress this concept when flying a particular airplane we operate that has a 'glass cockpit.' It has paid off before and did so during this event. I think there were two contributing factors. One; the other airplane was not on the CTAF Frequency. Two; we were landing with a quartering tailwind so if traffic was inbound; and not doing a training flight and circling approach; its reasonable to expect them to land on the runway that's most aligned with the wind. In the future I think I will try to do circling approaches at a controlled airport providing the latest opposite direction traffic restriction doesn't prohibit us from using a runway that is not currently in use.
A PC-12 training flight at an uncontrolled airport experienced a critical near-miss while conducting a circling approach to a runway not favored by the existing wind conditions. No communication was heard from the opposing aircraft on the CTAF frequency until after the event.