Cessna pilot reported 5 aircraft coming in from various directions to one runway;the pilots took it ...

Attributes
ACN	1602211
Time
Date	201812
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 29 Flight Crew Total 296 Flight Crew Type 78
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Miss Distance	Horizontal 1000

Narrative:

When flying into the pattern; there were 3 aircraft all coming in for a left base for runway 28 at ZZZ. We broke off our VOR a approach and started heading for the left base for runway 28. There were also 2 other aircraft converging for a left base for 28 as tower told them to fly there and report when there. There was a period of time (maybe 30 seconds) where 4 radio calls were made and the tower was not responding to us and the other pilots. These radio calls required responses as well as we were reporting that we were on the last base and other aircraft were making position reports. All 3 of us altered our courses which involved my student and I climbing over final where traffic was located below us and sidestepping to the left to avoid another aircraft. We weren't extremely close to this traffic and the traffic was other 172's like ourselves. There was safe separation here. Evasive action was not taken but it was closer than I would have wanted it to be. I believe tower had a new employee in training or they were doing a shift change. Either way; we altered course and avoided the other aircraft or then asked tower were we should go and they then responded to us. They gave us a right downwind for runway 28 and I believe we were #5 for that runway.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna pilot reported 5 aircraft coming in from various directions to one runway;the pilots took it upon themselves to separate from each other since ATC did not separate or sequence the traffic.

Narrative: When flying into the pattern; there were 3 aircraft all coming in for a left base for runway 28 at ZZZ. We broke off our VOR A approach and started heading for the left base for runway 28. There were also 2 other aircraft converging for a left base for 28 as tower told them to fly there and report when there. There was a period of time (maybe 30 seconds) where 4 radio calls were made and the tower was not responding to us and the other pilots. These radio calls required responses as well as we were reporting that we were on the last base and other aircraft were making position reports. All 3 of us altered our courses which involved my student and I climbing over final where traffic was located below us and sidestepping to the left to avoid another aircraft. We weren't extremely close to this traffic and the traffic was other 172's like ourselves. There was safe separation here. Evasive action was not taken but it was closer than I would have wanted it to be. I believe tower had a new employee in training or they were doing a shift change. Either way; we altered course and avoided the other aircraft or then asked tower were we should go and they then responded to us. They gave us a right downwind for runway 28 and I believe we were #5 for that runway.

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.