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Cessna 152 student pilot reported misidentifying traffic to follow and created a near mid air collision situation with other traffic in the pattern.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1580794 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201809 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | PAO.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna 152 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna Aircraft Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Student |
| Experience | Flight Crew Total 1.2 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict NMAC Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
| Miss Distance | Vertical 200 |
Narrative:
I was originally number 2 to land on runway 31 following another cessna in the front. On the right downwind; I was instructed by the tower to resequence to number 3 following a diamond star on the left downwind (just abeam the tower). I responded that I had the traffic in sight; however; it was the cessna in front of me; not the diamond on the left down wind. I beamed the cessna on final; and turned onto right base. Then; I saw the diamond star that was on its left base. Realizing that I made a mistake about the plane that I was supposed to follow (diamond star not cessna); I immediately turned left; following a 270 turn to final. In order to keep more distance with the diamond star ahead of me; I then did an s-turn; during which the tower said 'south-turn approved'. There was still not sufficient separation between me and the diamond star in the end. I then was instructed by the tower to go-around. It was unclear if the tower or the diamond star noticed this near miss incident.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Cessna 152 student pilot reported misidentifying traffic to follow and created a near mid air collision situation with other traffic in the pattern.
Narrative: I was originally number 2 to land on Runway 31 following another Cessna in the front. On the right downwind; I was instructed by the Tower to resequence to number 3 following a Diamond Star on the left downwind (just abeam the Tower). I responded that I had the traffic in sight; however; it was the Cessna in front of me; not the Diamond on the left down wind. I beamed the Cessna on final; and turned onto right base. Then; I saw the Diamond Star that was on its left base. Realizing that I made a mistake about the plane that I was supposed to follow (Diamond Star not Cessna); I immediately turned left; following a 270 turn to final. In order to keep more distance with the Diamond Star ahead of me; I then did an S-turn; during which the Tower said 'S-turn approved'. There was still not sufficient separation between me and the Diamond Star in the end. I then was instructed by the Tower to go-around. It was unclear if the Tower or the Diamond Star noticed this near miss incident.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.