Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 61; Flight Crew Total 7000; Flight Crew Type 300
Situational Awareness
Conflict NMAC
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Weather; Human Factors
While in cruise flight at 7;000 MSL immediately after exiting a cloud; I observed a glider descending into my altitude in a slight left bank and then roll out on the same heading as my aircraft. When I first spotted the glider; I was approximately 600 to 1;000 FT behind and slightly to the right of it. He was moving slowly.I was rapidly gaining on him and within seconds of a collision. I disconnected the autopilot and entered a hard right bank trying to maintain a visual on the glider as I did not know if he had seen me or what his next maneuver would be. As I rolled out past him; I realized we had missed colliding by approximately 200 FT.The main reason this incident occurred was the pilot of the glider's lack of maintaining VFR. The glider was 'dancing with the clouds' and had likely been in the clouds at some point. At the time I spotted him; he was clear of the cloud but was not maintaining required VFR cloud separation distances. Had I been distracted for any reason or been in a faster aircraft; a collision could have occurred that would have probably resulted in the deaths of all involved and potential injury or death to others on the ground.ATC advised they did not have radar contact on the glider. Additionally; there were no NOTAMs filed indicating glider activity at the SCD airport. The AFD does indicate that glider towing operations exist on weekends in a 3 mile radius of the airport below 6;000 FT. ATC was not aware of any glider activities at the airport at the time of occurrence.Had a NOTAM been filed; ATC would have likely vectored me away from the area but the main problem here was the glider pilot's lack of adherence to the rules and safe operation.
As he exited clouds on an IFR flight a C182T pilot experienced an NMAC with a sailplane operating in close proximity to the cloud cover. The reporter believed the sailplane pilot to have been in violation of required VFR separation from the cloud system.