Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 65; Flight Crew Total 414; Flight Crew Type 309
Communication Breakdown; Time Pressure; Training / Qualification
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Procedure
My student and I were on a training flight heading to PRC from the north for closed traffic. This particular flight was the student's final review flight before submission to the stage check and as the instructor I wanted to evaluate my private pilot student on traffic patterns. My student was given the clearance by Tower to make right base for a 4 mile final for Runway 21L. As the instructor; I monitored the progress of flight and my student eventually neglected to descent from 8;000 FT MSL to Traffic Pattern Altitude (TPA) and overshot the normal position to make right base for a 4 mile final. When it became apparent to me that with our current heading we weren't able to fly the pattern as assigned; I gave my student time to notice his deviation and make appropriate corrections. During this time I had also noted converging traffic (head-on) on our MFD of our G1000 equipped airplane which was still in Class D airspace and climbing for a northwest departure. As time elapsed it became clear that my student was not going to take the appropriate actions to either change heading to a right base or take evasive actions to avoid converging traffic. I took the controls and maneuvered to the right to give way. As I was making the right turn I noticed on the MFD that the converging traffic was making a left turn instead of also giving way to the right and I subsequently initiated a climbing right turn to avoid getting too close. It was during this climbing right turn when I made visual contact for the first time and noted that the separation between us was about 400 FT horizontal and 300 FT vertical. After the other aircraft became no factor any more Tower advised us of a heading 110 to make a 3 mile final for [Runway] 21L. I believe the conflict was caused by my student not descending to TPA as soon as possible after receiving the before mentioned clearance. A contributing factor is also my failure to see the trend of our flight paths and my inaction of taking the controls from my student sooner. A second contributing factor is also the other pilot's incorrect action to give way to converging traffic. In the future I will set myself clear standards of unsatisfactory performance during evaluation flights in congested airspace and avoid giving my students extra time to notice any deviation from the established standards without stepping in.
An instructor reported a near miss in PRC Class D airspace after his student failed to descend to the traffic pattern altitude and extended the aircraft's downwind leg into the path of a departing aircraft.