Narrative:

3/89 left champaign, il, IFR 7000' direct ft wayne, in, flying small aircraft. Scattered layer of approximately 4000-5000' clear above. Nighttime. From approximately xa Z time. IFR over grissom AFB level 7000' grissom approach control had acknowledged me and I was tracking at approximately 065 degree heading into ft wayne. At approximately xb Z time, grissom approach called traffic, 11 O'clock, maintain visibility sep. I called back and told them that I had my traffic at 11 O'clock. I called grissom back and asked what altitude my traffic was at. She said, 'traffic out of 7.6 descending.' at that time there was less than 1 mi sep. Traffic looked like it was heading right for us, so I called grissom back and told them I was making an immediate left turn to approximately 0320 degree heading. As I made that turn to the left my right wing was up and the mlt jet passed under my right wing within a couple hundred ft. I followed that traffic as far as I could visually and turned back to a northerly heading, then called grissom and told them I was returning to my original heading of approximately 060 degrees into ft wayne. As I rolled out onto 060 degree heading, I went through the mlt's wake turbulence--severe turbulence. I lost control of aircraft momentarily and, after slowing, checked for handling qualities of the aircraft. Then called grissom back--told them that that was too close, that the wake turbulence tore the hell out of us and all I got was a 'standby.' maintained my original course heading toward ft wayne. Contacted grissom again, told to standby. Later handed off to ft wayne approach, made landing at ft wayne. Xc local time, called terre haute FSS and talked to supervisor. Told him I wanted to report the near miss. Asked for NASA reports to be sent to me, as well as the full report that he took over the phone. The supervisor filled out the near miss in detail. He asked me what I felt were some of the contributing problems. I told him that when my traffic was reported to me, no distance or altitude was given. Also, I was told to maintain visibility sep with traffic that I had not yet reported having in sight. I stated the occurrence happened at xb time on the 320 degree right off grissom approximately 12 DME at 7000'. After filling out this form over the phone, he read my statements back to me. They appeared to be correct. He later called me around xd am and wanted my home address and phone #, and explained that he would forward this information to ind GADO. At approximately xe a person from the GADO office phoned and asked me to describe the 'near miss' in detail. I did so, and she told me that it would probably be a month to 4 months before I would find out anything about this investigation because GADO had to deal with the military liaison people at grissom (grisson not under FAA control). She called back approximately 2 hours later requesting that I send a written, signed statement as well as drawings/diagrams relating to the compass rose and wanted to know how close the 2 aircraft came. I told her a couple hundred ft--since nighttime difficult to ascertain accurately. Also explained that I had requested copies of the statement I had given her and the one given to terre haute FSS, and that I had requested a NASA form be sent. Today is 3/mon/89, xe am. Have not received statements nor NASA report form. Contributing factors: dealing with military approach control facility in which they use discrete UHF frequencys and VHF for GA--means GA pilot cannot hear any communication between military aircraft and approach control during that time. So, when approach control contacted me about my traffic, I had not heard anything about the traffic previously. Traffic was reported to me at 10:30-11 O'clock. At the time I found my traffic at 10:30-11 O'clock, it was inside of 1 mi. My ground speed was approximately 170-173 KTS. The mlt was in descent, supposedly descended down to 4000', so we had very fast closing rate. Also, approach control told me to maintain visibility sep from traffic before I reported traffic in sight. Primary contributing factors: 1) no altitude given of traffic, 2) no distance given, 3) time element was within seconds to react to avoid collision. Corrective actions: made immediate left turn to 320-330 degrees and followed the traffic under my right wing and out of sight. Then turned north heading, which I feel saved some damage to my aircraft. I then called approach to report turning back on course 060 degree heading. That is when I went through the wake turbulence of the medium large transport. Had I maintained my original heading or rolled back into my heading sooner, I feel sure that there would have been structural damage to my aircraft/total aircraft loss of control. 3/thur/89 filed IFR from ft wayne back to champaign at 4000'. As approached grissom, told to contact them. Contacted grissom approach and had same controller. They asked me to contact them or if they could contact me upon landing. I said that I'd contact them upon landing. After arrival, phoned grissom AFB approach facility. He apologized for what had happened, and explained that the approach controller that was working that sector that evening was being re-evaluated, that some serious mistakes had been made, and that the approach controller should have given me altitude and distance of traffic. Apparently the approach controller believed that we were within less that 1 mi on her scope when the traffic was reported to me. She stated that she was explaining to me when she contacted me initially that the mlt had me in visibility contact and would maintain visibility sep, so we have conflict here as far as wording on initial contact. He also said there was no urgent need for the mlt to descend at that point. #3) approach controller had very heavy workload (working GA and military frequencys). #4) mlt pilot had made evasive left turn, and that he leveled off at 5000' instead of 4000' as assigned. Again, he apologized and re-stated that things were being researched. I also expressed my concern that every time I tried to contact approach I was told to standby--as if, due to the occurrence, they were trying not to acknowledge me. He reassured me that that was not the case. Human factors: level 7000', good flight conditions. I should have been told the traffic was an mlt, which is capable of very fast descent. Distance & altitude should have been given to me, and we should have had at least 1 mi sep, plus required vertical sep. Also, both parties should have traffic in sight to maintain safe visibility sep.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: WHILE ON AN IFR FLT IN VMC REPORTER HAD A NMAC WITH AN MLT. BOTH ACFT BEING CONTROLLED BY MIL AFB APCH CTL.

Narrative: 3/89 LEFT CHAMPAIGN, IL, IFR 7000' DIRECT FT WAYNE, IN, FLYING SMA. SCATTERED LAYER OF APPROX 4000-5000' CLR ABOVE. NIGHTTIME. FROM APPROX XA Z TIME. IFR OVER GRISSOM AFB LEVEL 7000' GRISSOM APCH CTL HAD ACKNOWLEDGED ME AND I WAS TRACKING AT APPROX 065 DEG HDG INTO FT WAYNE. AT APPROX XB Z TIME, GRISSOM APCH CALLED TFC, 11 O'CLOCK, MAINTAIN VIS SEP. I CALLED BACK AND TOLD THEM THAT I HAD MY TFC AT 11 O'CLOCK. I CALLED GRISSOM BACK AND ASKED WHAT ALT MY TFC WAS AT. SHE SAID, 'TFC OUT OF 7.6 DSNDING.' AT THAT TIME THERE WAS LESS THAN 1 MI SEP. TFC LOOKED LIKE IT WAS HDG RIGHT FOR US, SO I CALLED GRISSOM BACK AND TOLD THEM I WAS MAKING AN IMMEDIATE LEFT TURN TO APPROX 0320 DEG HDG. AS I MADE THAT TURN TO THE LEFT MY RIGHT WING WAS UP AND THE MLT JET PASSED UNDER MY RIGHT WING WITHIN A COUPLE HUNDRED FT. I FOLLOWED THAT TFC AS FAR AS I COULD VISUALLY AND TURNED BACK TO A NORTHERLY HDG, THEN CALLED GRISSOM AND TOLD THEM I WAS RETURNING TO MY ORIGINAL HDG OF APPROX 060 DEGS INTO FT WAYNE. AS I ROLLED OUT ONTO 060 DEG HDG, I WENT THROUGH THE MLT'S WAKE TURB--SEVERE TURB. I LOST CONTROL OF ACFT MOMENTARILY AND, AFTER SLOWING, CHKED FOR HANDLING QUALITIES OF THE ACFT. THEN CALLED GRISSOM BACK--TOLD THEM THAT THAT WAS TOO CLOSE, THAT THE WAKE TURB TORE THE HELL OUT OF US AND ALL I GOT WAS A 'STANDBY.' MAINTAINED MY ORIGINAL COURSE HDG TOWARD FT WAYNE. CONTACTED GRISSOM AGAIN, TOLD TO STANDBY. LATER HANDED OFF TO FT WAYNE APCH, MADE LNDG AT FT WAYNE. XC LCL TIME, CALLED TERRE HAUTE FSS AND TALKED TO SUPVR. TOLD HIM I WANTED TO RPT THE NEAR MISS. ASKED FOR NASA RPTS TO BE SENT TO ME, AS WELL AS THE FULL RPT THAT HE TOOK OVER THE PHONE. THE SUPVR FILLED OUT THE NEAR MISS IN DETAIL. HE ASKED ME WHAT I FELT WERE SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTING PROBS. I TOLD HIM THAT WHEN MY TFC WAS RPTED TO ME, NO DISTANCE OR ALT WAS GIVEN. ALSO, I WAS TOLD TO MAINTAIN VIS SEP WITH TFC THAT I HAD NOT YET RPTED HAVING IN SIGHT. I STATED THE OCCURRENCE HAPPENED AT XB TIME ON THE 320 DEG R OFF GRISSOM APPROX 12 DME AT 7000'. AFTER FILLING OUT THIS FORM OVER THE PHONE, HE READ MY STATEMENTS BACK TO ME. THEY APPEARED TO BE CORRECT. HE LATER CALLED ME AROUND XD AM AND WANTED MY HOME ADDRESS AND PHONE #, AND EXPLAINED THAT HE WOULD FORWARD THIS INFO TO IND GADO. AT APPROX XE A PERSON FROM THE GADO OFFICE PHONED AND ASKED ME TO DESCRIBE THE 'NEAR MISS' IN DETAIL. I DID SO, AND SHE TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A MONTH TO 4 MONTHS BEFORE I WOULD FIND OUT ANYTHING ABOUT THIS INVESTIGATION BECAUSE GADO HAD TO DEAL WITH THE MIL LIAISON PEOPLE AT GRISSOM (GRISSON NOT UNDER FAA CONTROL). SHE CALLED BACK APPROX 2 HRS LATER REQUESTING THAT I SEND A WRITTEN, SIGNED STATEMENT AS WELL AS DRAWINGS/DIAGRAMS RELATING TO THE COMPASS ROSE AND WANTED TO KNOW HOW CLOSE THE 2 ACFT CAME. I TOLD HER A COUPLE HUNDRED FT--SINCE NIGHTTIME DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN ACCURATELY. ALSO EXPLAINED THAT I HAD REQUESTED COPIES OF THE STATEMENT I HAD GIVEN HER AND THE ONE GIVEN TO TERRE HAUTE FSS, AND THAT I HAD REQUESTED A NASA FORM BE SENT. TODAY IS 3/MON/89, XE AM. HAVE NOT RECEIVED STATEMENTS NOR NASA RPT FORM. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: DEALING WITH MIL APCH CTL FAC IN WHICH THEY USE DISCRETE UHF FREQS AND VHF FOR GA--MEANS GA PLT CANNOT HEAR ANY COM BTWN MIL ACFT AND APCH CTL DURING THAT TIME. SO, WHEN APCH CTL CONTACTED ME ABOUT MY TFC, I HAD NOT HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THE TFC PREVIOUSLY. TFC WAS RPTED TO ME AT 10:30-11 O'CLOCK. AT THE TIME I FOUND MY TFC AT 10:30-11 O'CLOCK, IT WAS INSIDE OF 1 MI. MY GND SPD WAS APPROX 170-173 KTS. THE MLT WAS IN DSCNT, SUPPOSEDLY DSNDED DOWN TO 4000', SO WE HAD VERY FAST CLOSING RATE. ALSO, APCH CTL TOLD ME TO MAINTAIN VIS SEP FROM TFC BEFORE I RPTED TFC IN SIGHT. PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1) NO ALT GIVEN OF TFC, 2) NO DISTANCE GIVEN, 3) TIME ELEMENT WAS WITHIN SECS TO REACT TO AVOID COLLISION. CORRECTIVE ACTIONS: MADE IMMEDIATE LEFT TURN TO 320-330 DEGS AND FOLLOWED THE TFC UNDER MY RIGHT WING AND OUT OF SIGHT. THEN TURNED N HDG, WHICH I FEEL SAVED SOME DAMAGE TO MY ACFT. I THEN CALLED APCH TO RPT TURNING BACK ON COURSE 060 DEG HDG. THAT IS WHEN I WENT THROUGH THE WAKE TURB OF THE MLG. HAD I MAINTAINED MY ORIGINAL HDG OR ROLLED BACK INTO MY HDG SOONER, I FEEL SURE THAT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO MY ACFT/TOTAL ACFT LOSS OF CONTROL. 3/THUR/89 FILED IFR FROM FT WAYNE BACK TO CHAMPAIGN AT 4000'. AS APCHED GRISSOM, TOLD TO CONTACT THEM. CONTACTED GRISSOM APCH AND HAD SAME CTLR. THEY ASKED ME TO CONTACT THEM OR IF THEY COULD CONTACT ME UPON LNDG. I SAID THAT I'D CONTACT THEM UPON LNDG. AFTER ARR, PHONED GRISSOM AFB APCH FAC. HE APOLOGIZED FOR WHAT HAD HAPPENED, AND EXPLAINED THAT THE APCH CTLR THAT WAS WORKING THAT SECTOR THAT EVENING WAS BEING RE-EVALUATED, THAT SOME SERIOUS MISTAKES HAD BEEN MADE, AND THAT THE APCH CTLR SHOULD HAVE GIVEN ME ALT AND DISTANCE OF TFC. APPARENTLY THE APCH CTLR BELIEVED THAT WE WERE WITHIN LESS THAT 1 MI ON HER SCOPE WHEN THE TFC WAS RPTED TO ME. SHE STATED THAT SHE WAS EXPLAINING TO ME WHEN SHE CONTACTED ME INITIALLY THAT THE MLT HAD ME IN VIS CONTACT AND WOULD MAINTAIN VIS SEP, SO WE HAVE CONFLICT HERE AS FAR AS WORDING ON INITIAL CONTACT. HE ALSO SAID THERE WAS NO URGENT NEED FOR THE MLT TO DSND AT THAT POINT. #3) APCH CTLR HAD VERY HVY WORKLOAD (WORKING GA AND MIL FREQS). #4) MLT PLT HAD MADE EVASIVE LEFT TURN, AND THAT HE LEVELED OFF AT 5000' INSTEAD OF 4000' AS ASSIGNED. AGAIN, HE APOLOGIZED AND RE-STATED THAT THINGS WERE BEING RESEARCHED. I ALSO EXPRESSED MY CONCERN THAT EVERY TIME I TRIED TO CONTACT APCH I WAS TOLD TO STANDBY--AS IF, DUE TO THE OCCURRENCE, THEY WERE TRYING NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ME. HE REASSURED ME THAT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. HUMAN FACTORS: LEVEL 7000', GOOD FLT CONDITIONS. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD THE TFC WAS AN MLT, WHICH IS CAPABLE OF VERY FAST DSCNT. DISTANCE & ALT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO ME, AND WE SHOULD HAVE HAD AT LEAST 1 MI SEP, PLUS REQUIRED VERT SEP. ALSO, BOTH PARTIES SHOULD HAVE TFC IN SIGHT TO MAINTAIN SAFE VIS SEP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.