Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 230; Flight Crew Total 1300; Flight Crew Type 1100
Conflict NMAC; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
I am a flight instructor and was completing a training flight; working on landings with a pre-solo student (student has 25 hours). We were making right traffic for Runway XXR. Tower was on split frequencies. We were talking to Tower on [one frequency]. It was XA:27 and we were running out of time; so while on the upwind on [Runway] XXR I told Tower that the next trip around the pattern would be a full stop. Tower told us to remain on the upwind and contact Tower on [the second Tower frequency]. My student called Tower on [the second Tower frequency] and that Controller told us to make left traffic and to switch to Runway XXL (very typical to have us land on Runway XXL if they can sequence us because our ramp is on that side of the airport). By this time we were at Traffic Pattern Altitude going 90 KIAS. My student cleared his left wing and turned left crosswind. Tower told us to remain on downwind and he would call our base. My student cleared his left wing and turned left downwind. After turning onto the downwind; we heard a pilot call and say; 'Tower; XXX is making 360s abeam the Tower to downwind.' Tower did not sound like they understood what was happening. That is when we saw a company Cessna headed straight for us from our right in a very shallow right turn pointing at us at the same altitude while we were on the downwind. I took the controls and made an aggressive climbing turn to the right. While in the turn; Tower told us to remain on the crosswind. I told Tower that we were turning back to the crosswind. Estimated horizontal distance from other aircraft was 200 FT (5 wingspans of the Cessna 172); my student said it was 3 wingspans away. The other aircraft made no evasive action; I do not think they saw us. After flying a long crosswind; I started a shallow turn back to the left downwind to avoid hitting [a local hill]. Tower told us to follow [aircraft XXX]; I told Tower that we were looking for them. We lost sight of them during the steep right evasive turn. We saw the traffic again after they turned left base. Tower cleared us to land on [Runway] XXL. I think the winds were from 320 at 7 KTS. They changed runways after we landed. I believe that Tower had a very high workload; was training a new Controller and lost sequencing. They were getting ready to change runways for the wind and there was a student pilot on a solo that they lost because was reporting inbound from a different direction than where he was. They were trying to over fly the solo over the airport above traffic pattern altitude; change runways; land us on the left; get [aircraft XXX] a short approach; have a plane take off; and give another plane direction to fly inbound all at the same time. I think that Tower told [aircraft XXX] to make a right 360 on downwind abeam the Tower for sequencing so they could get a short approach. We did not know they were making a 360; I think that we were on the other Tower frequency several minutes earlier when [that aircraft] was given these directions. I was also wondering how many 360s [aircraft XXX] actually flew on the downwind abeam the Tower.
An observant flight instructor training in a Cessna 172 was handed off to the second Tower Control frequency and turned to the parallel runway following a touch-and-go. While turning downwind he heard a radio call from another aircraft on downwind making 360 degree turns. He observed the aircraft at his altitude and on a collision course; so he took over control from his student and executed an evasive maneuver. He was concerned that the Tower was unaware of the situation; and that the other aircraft did not see them. They re-entered the traffic pattern and made a safe landing.