Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Private; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 108; Flight Crew Total 979; Flight Crew Type 778
Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface; Confusion; Distraction
Conflict NMAC
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Human Factors; Procedure
I was operating a flight from ZZZ to IWS with two passengers on an IFR flight plane and talking with Approach. Approach cleared me for the Visual Approach into West Houston Airport; untowered field and approved my frequency change. Before I switched to CTAF; I heard a traffic alert as Approach asked if I was still on the frequency. I heard the traffic call for crossing traffic 500 feet below me; I'm not sure what lateral separation was with the initial call. I acknowledged the traffic alert and stayed with Approach instead of flipping to CTAF.I saw that I had a nearby ADS-B target converging with my flight track and was scanning furiously for that aircraft but could not see him. The other aircraft was climbing; and was converging vertically as well as laterally. I have a low-wing aircraft and dipped the left wing and slipped to try to make visual contact but did not find it; as it was already quite a bit inside the wing in my line of sight at that point. As I saw the ADS-B track continue to converge and pulled up and right sharply to evade the target. As I did that; the other plane unmasked from behind my wing and I was able to maintain visual separation for the 10 or 15 second we were closest to each other. Approach called the traffic as no factor at the same time and I cancelled IFR with West Houston in sight as we were in VMC and set up for downwind entry overflying midfield.I explained to my passengers that we had to move the plane away from another aircraft which had failed to yield and that we were not in danger. On reflection; I should have positioned the aircraft more aggressively to drop the left wing to see the other plane earlier. I also could have immediately asked for a vector from Approach to keep me clear; although this traffic appeared to be climbing out of Dan Jones (T51) or Dry Creek (TS07) and presented a late radar contact for the traffic call.
GA pilot on a Visual Approach to IWS non-towered airport reported an NMAC with an unidentified VFR target. The pilot was still on Approach frequency and had not switched to CTAF.