Medium Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
I was conducting CA IOE on a flight to PVU. Salt Lake Approach vectored us for a right downwind to Runway 13. We called the airport insight entering the downwind and Approach delayed our clearance for traffic that was on a long straight in approach from the north. Our assigned heading put us on a fairly tight downwind that was actually converging on the final approach course and the Controller had us level at 9;000. Abeam the final approach fix for 13; the Controller cleared us for the visual and I spotted the traffic on final at about the same time and reported him in sight. We were cleared number two for PVU behind the traffic and to contact Tower. I switched to Tower frequency; and the Captain in training who was the Pilot Flying called for final configuration changes and the Landing checklist since we were high on profile and needed to take immediate action to be stabilized and not overshoot the final approach course. The approach got busy and my attention was focused on making sure we were on the path of being stabilized for our visual approach. PVU had a lot of traffic in the area and Tower was talking to several aircraft in the pattern; arrivals; and departures. I had not yet made a call to the Controller and we were now approaching about a 3 mile final. Our TCAS then started calling a traffic advisory at our 2 o'clock and a few miles ahead. I immediately started looking for the traffic and the target appeared to be an aircraft in the pattern on the right downwind for 13. By this point the [original traffic] had landed and cleared the runway for the ramp and I thought we were number one for the runway. The target on the TCAS had now gotten closer and was at our same altitude; we were now somewhere within a 3 mile final and I had not gotten a call into Tower nor had Tower called us. About that time I saw the traffic; a Cessna who was just starting what appeared to be a right base leg and was pointed right at us. We were now somewhere around a 2 mile. I called the traffic to my Pilot Flying who saw the traffic and immediately started a bank to the left. Almost simultaneously; the controller called an immediate turn to the Cessna and the Cessna banked to the left back towards a downwind. We did not deviate much from the final course because the Cessna had taken immediate action and was no longer a threat. We never did receive a TCAS RA. The Controller then issued a go-around command to another aircraft in the pattern. We were now on short final and I made a last minute call to Tower for a landing clearance (at this point after the load of events that occurred I could not remember if we had received a landing clearance or not; but the nose light was not in the bright position and I started realizing that I had not gotten a call in). The Controller said it was the first he had heard from us and issued us a landing clearance for Runway 13. We touched down and taxied to the gate with no other problems. After parking the airplane; I called the Tower on the phone to talk to the Controller about the sequence of events. I told the Controller that we had gotten a little task saturated on the short high approach and apologized for my tardy call for a landing clearance. The Controller told me that he really wasn't quite sure what had happened and that he was task saturated because he was physically the only controller in the Tower at the time and working all positions due to staffing issues. There was a lot of fixed wing traffic in the pattern; helicopter traffic in the area; and PVU also had runway and taxiway painting going on and the Controller was also dealing with clearances to move these crews around the field. We then discussed the coordination between our visual approach clearance from Salt Lake Approach. I told the Controller that we had been cleared number two behind the [first traffic] for the approach; switched to PVU Tower frequency; and turned about a 5 mile high final from a modified right downwind/base leg. I was surprised when the Controller told me that he had no idea that we were inbound until he heard his traffic collision alert sound; looked up; and saw us on a two mile final with the Cessna turning into us. There seemed to be no coordination between Tower and Approach on our arrival and the Controller was not planning on us in the sequence of his landing traffic. The Controller said that several times this month they have had similar incidents where a fast moving IFR aircraft cleared for approach have created conflict with VFR traffic. The Controller was going to file a report on the event and I advised him that we would do the same.
Air carrier landing PVU described a confused visual approach and landing event when ATC seemed to be surprised; very busy and confused with the aircraft involved; ATC reportedly listed lack of communications with the TRACON as a causal factor.