Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Total 344; Flight Crew Type 4
Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
This problem occurred during a session of touch and goes at my local field MYF.  I was downwind on my 3rd touch and go. The field was getting extremely busy for the tower controllers as multiple aircraft were inbound for landing.  During my upwind portion I noticed a change of controllers on the tower frequency.  The new controller sounded somewhat stressed regarding the amount of inbound traffic.  On the downwind the new controller instructed my aircraft was number three.  I am not sure what else was said by the controller.  Was the instruction to land?  Or was it I was #3 for further touch and goes?I had not requested a full stop!  But the controller must have felt she was instructing me to do a full stop due to the heavy traffic.  I may have misunderstood what her intentions were for my aircraft.  In all my years of flying out of this airport I had never been instructed to land simply because the traffic was getting heavy.  I completed my 4th landing and was turning from crosswind to downwind when I noted Aircraft Y turning into me at my 1 o'clock position; I immediately pushed into a dive to go under Aircraft Y and I think he climbed.  We missed.  The controller called conflict alert and told me to do a 360 left turn which would have brought me back into conflict with Aircraft Y.  I lost approx. 250 ft of altitude. and rolled back into the downwind course.  Aircraft Y passed by my left side above and faster than me.  The controller now stated that I had been instructed to land.  Nothing was ever said regarding the need for full stop landings for the aircraft in the pattern.  If the controller had stated that I needed to do a full stop do to the heavy traffic I would have certainly complied.  I was told to contact the tower after the 5th landing and tower was forcing all aircraft in the pattern to land.  Upon contacting the tower I was told they had told me to land.  I told them I must have missed the call or intent of the controller to have me do a full stop.  They also told me they were short handed and the ASR [Airport Surveillance Radar] radar for the field was out and they had to make a report to the FSDO due to the conflict alert.  My perception of the whole thing was that I was not being told to do a full stop but that I was just 3rd for the runway.  I told the tower that if I had misunderstood or missed the controllers call then I was at fault.  But what did the controller actually say?  I really need to hear the tape recording of it.  If the tower is stopping touch and go traffic they should have at least given a short reason which would have been understood by all.
I was given the visual to Runway 28.  I initially had the ILS 28R loaded in the GPS and after being given the a clearance for the visual 28R I selected direct to the airport.  As I was approximately 1/2 mile from the airport I realized I was lined up for runway 23. Instead of making a late change to runway 28R; I called the tower and asked for a vector back to runway 28R / the airport.  I received an instruction to turn right and to head to the east.  I complied with the instruction and began to climb and turn right.  After initiating the turn; I replied to the tower that I had runway 28R in sight and could return to the right downwind.  In the turn; I saw traffic that was also in the pattern and was able to retain separation from the traffic.  I continued in the downwind and landed without incident on runway 28RI realize that I did lose situational awareness and I should have either loaded the visual 28R or left the ILS to 28R into the GPS when I was being vectored to the visual approach. I should not have hit direct to the airport.  If I would not have done that I would certainly have either correctly lined up for 28R or realized I was turning for the wrong runway in plenty of time to correct the mistake.
Pilots reported an NMAC in the pattern at MYF.