Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 47.5; Flight Crew Total 190.7; Flight Crew Type 39.3
Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict NMAC; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
I was flying VFR to Orlando Executive Airport (ORL). I had just departed from that same airport and was taking a joyride with my wife. She began to feel ill so I cut our flight short and was returning to land. I was monitoring the Tower frequency so that I would have an understanding of the air traffic situation upon my arrival in the area. I collected ATIS on Comm 2 and noticed it was the same information as my departure. I called Tower at 15 miles out and was told to continue inbound and make a turn for left base. As this was my first flight into ORL visually; I had some brief trouble locating the airport; but located it when I was about 7 or 8 miles out and to the northwest. When I was about 4 1/2 miles from the airport; I began a right turn to join the base leg. Just prior to starting my turn; I heard Tower talking to another aircraft in the pattern. ATC then contacted me; as I had just started my turn; and told me I would be number 2 for landing; to keep an eye out for the traffic that was crosswind and to go ahead and turn south and fly west of downtown to join base. I read back the instructions as I attempted to locate the other aircraft. At the time of the call I was already north/northeast of downtown and turning south to join base and did not really consider that my course would take me on the east side of downtown. I quickly made the traffic now flying downwind and determined that I would be able to follow it in while maintaining safe separation. Tower contacted me and informed me that a jet would be departing before my landing; and I acknowledged. Tower then said it looked like I was out of position and issued a traffic alert for the aircraft I was observing on the downwind. As I was receiving this alert; the other aircraft turned right directly on my line of flight and at my 12 o'clock; now heading straight for me. I estimated its altitude to be a couple hundred feet above mine as I was descending for the turn to final. I pushed the nose forward and passed under the other aircraft at 250-300 feet. As I did this; I informed the Tower that I still had the traffic and believed I was in the correct position heading south on a left base. Tower then informed me that I was on the wrong side of downtown [and] that they had directed me to the west side and I was on the east. I apologized and was cleared to land.Upon reflection; I remember receiving and reading back the Tower direction to fly base on the west side of downtown; however; I was already east of downtown and to fly the directed base turn; I would have had to backtrack somewhat and fly a west/southwest course instead of the south course I was directed. As the rest of Tower instructions matched what I was expecting and indeed already doing; and as I was focused on looking for the traffic I had been made aware of; I automatically assumed I was on the correct side of downtown without stopping to verify. There seems to be three contributing factors to the incident. First; I failed to digest the entirety of the direction I'd been given resulting in my being out of position. Second; there was the confusing directive from the tower controller telling me to fly south and to fly west of downtown; when a south bound course would take me east of downtown. Finally; there was the unexpected right turn made by the other aircraft into my line of flight. Had they turned base; I would have been no factor in their flight and would have been able to safely follow them in. Instead; they performed a 360 [degrees] maneuver that took our two planes into close proximity and resulted in them following me in.
PA-28 pilot reported did not follow ATC instructions and created a NMAC situation.