C172 and a C172 had an near midair collision on approach to lzu.

Attributes
ACN	427831
Time
Date	199902
Day	Mon
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : lzu
State Reference	GA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 400 msl bound upper : 400
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : rsw
Operator	other
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Operator	general aviation : personal
Flight Phase	descent : approach
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : instructor
Qualification	pilot : cfi
ASRS Report	427831
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot instruction : trainee
Events
Anomaly	conflict : nmac non adherence : required legal separation non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	other other
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Miss Distance	vertical : 200

Narrative:

#2 to land straight in runway 25 following C172 on base. Had traffic in sight and wondered about spacing but looked ok when following on final. Our airspeed initially high but down to 75 KTS at time of near miss. It appeared to drift to the left which made us think it was a helicopter plus we thought it looked very low. All of a sudden aircraft appeared to reverse course and pass underneath us. We went around at same time tower was instructing us to go around. Called the tower on the ground and concluded we had overtaken the plane on short final. Impossible to judge distance from a rotating beacon at night. I should have used more caution in following after long day instructing.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 AND A C172 HAD AN NMAC ON APCH TO LZU.

Narrative: #2 TO LAND STRAIGHT IN RWY 25 FOLLOWING C172 ON BASE. HAD TFC IN SIGHT AND WONDERED ABOUT SPACING BUT LOOKED OK WHEN FOLLOWING ON FINAL. OUR AIRSPD INITIALLY HIGH BUT DOWN TO 75 KTS AT TIME OF NEAR MISS. IT APPEARED TO DRIFT TO THE L WHICH MADE US THINK IT WAS A HELI PLUS WE THOUGHT IT LOOKED VERY LOW. ALL OF A SUDDEN ACFT APPEARED TO REVERSE COURSE AND PASS UNDERNEATH US. WE WENT AROUND AT SAME TIME TWR WAS INSTRUCTING US TO GAR. CALLED THE TWR ON THE GND AND CONCLUDED WE HAD OVERTAKEN THE PLANE ON SHORT FINAL. IMPOSSIBLE TO JUDGE DISTANCE FROM A ROTATING BEACON AT NIGHT. I SHOULD HAVE USED MORE CAUTION IN FOLLOWING AFTER LONG DAY INSTRUCTING.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 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.