Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 46; Flight Crew Total 412; Flight Crew Type 42
Situational Awareness; Distraction
Conflict NMAC
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
We were returning to land at Falcon Field when we were instructed to enter left traffic for Runway 22R. There were other airplanes arriving for landing; so we were sequenced as number three for landing and were instructed to follow the preceding aircraft on a final approach. The position of the aircraft was provided and I identified the aircraft and advised Tower that I had the traffic in sight. Since I was instructing my student; my attention was divided between the traffic and my student. Soon I realized that we had lost visual contact with the aircraft I was supposed to follow; so I began to scan the area to re-establish visual contact. I identified an aircraft on final; so we continued the approach for landing. We proceeded turning base when we thought that our separation was adequate; only to find ourselves converging with another aircraft on final. I immediately made a sharp left turn to avoid a collision. The other aircraft on final made a call to Tower asking about my airplane and why we were as close we were. Tower seemed to be unaware of the situation or they deemed it non-threatening (this I do not know). I advised Tower that I indeed had made a left turn to avoid the other aircraft. I met with the pilot of the other aircraft on the ground and we discussed the situation. From my perspective; he was not at fault. I told him the situation and that the error on my part (identifying and following the wrong airplane) led to a near miss mid-air collision. In hindsight I should have advised Tower that I had lost visual contact with the other aircraft in the first place. I could have also confirmed the position of the other aircraft to verify we were adequately separated. I am glad that we were continuously vigilant for any traffic conflicts which I believe allowed me to take the controls and maneuver to avoid the collision. A contributing factor that could have led to this mishap would be the fact that I let my guard down in controlled airspace.
Instructor pilot in light aircraft described an NMAC at FFZ when he followed the wrong aircraft to the airport.