Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 4.2; Flight Crew Total 1118; Flight Crew Type 802
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Procedure; Human Factors
On right base; I was cleared to land number two in sequence; following traffic in front of me. As I turned final; I had no visual of that traffic. I asked the Tower where the traffic landing in front of me was. Coming down the glideslope; I saw a TCAS target in front and slightly to the left of me on my MFD indicating what looked like a mid-air about to happen. I called the Tower to ask where the aircraft cleared in front of me was and he said he was just turning final; consistent with my thought that a mid-air was imminent. As I still had no visual on that aircraft; I announced to the Tower that I was making a climbing right 360 to avoid the traffic. I made a tight 360 so as not to interfere with traffic in the pattern. As there were perfect VMC conditions; I could see where I was going in the turn. The Tower then said make it a 340 turn; not a 360. When I was at the 340 mark or so; I asked if I was cleared to land; as there was no traffic in front of me. I then received the clearance to land. On landing; Ground Control advised that it was a possible deviation for making the 360. My reason for deviating with a 360 turn was I never had a visual on the traffic in front of me but made my judgment on the basis of the TCAS target. As Pilot in Command; I felt the plane was in imminent danger; that immediate action was required and that failure to do so would put the lives of me and my passenger; plus the lives of the other pilot and passengers in mortal danger; especially with the Tower handling so many other calls. The number of planes in the pattern added to the delay in communications with the Tower. Also; because I was in right traffic and the plane cleared before me was on the left turn to final to the same runway; I never did have a visual on the plane cleared before me. I was not advised the plane I would be following on final would be turning from a left base in front of me; or I would have been looking there for that traffic. I feel that the controller may have not kept sufficient separation between me and the traffic he turned to land in front of me. My opinion is that if the controller had been more forthcoming with information in this situation; this may have been avoided.
A pilot reported they made a turn off their final approach course for converging traffic on a base leg.