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A B737 suffered a near midair collision with a T38 whose pilot appeared to be operating the aircraft in an erratic and unsafe manner.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 886566 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201005 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | SMF.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-300 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Talon (T38) |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 107 Flight Crew Type 12500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict NMAC Deviation - Speed All Types |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 0 Vertical 300 |
Narrative:
On approach to smf we were vectored normally to a right downwind for 16L. Approximately abeam the runway 34 numbers and level at 3000 ft; we received a traffic alert for traffic at our six o'clock position and 500 ft above our altitude. At approximately abeam midfield; the traffic began a descent and then leveled at our altitude (according to our TCAS display). Closure rate seemed very rapid and excessive; (we were at almost 250 KTS). I called for my first officer to look for the traffic and when he saw the aircraft it was within 300 ft belly up to us pulling away yet still closing. He pulled away down and to the right aggressively and then passed back under us to the left. The maneuver seemed completely unsafe and erratic. The T-38; after calling visual on us; in this situation: 1) descended to our altitude. 2) appeared to increase closure rate. 3) failed to maintain safe separation. 4) failed to safely maneuver his aircraft after gaining separation. It appeared this was an intentional violation.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737 suffered a NMAC with a T38 whose pilot appeared to be operating the aircraft in an erratic and unsafe manner.
Narrative: On approach to SMF we were vectored normally to a right downwind for 16L. Approximately abeam the Runway 34 numbers and level at 3000 FT; we received a Traffic Alert for traffic at our six o'clock position and 500 FT above our altitude. At approximately abeam midfield; the traffic began a descent and then leveled at our altitude (according to our TCAS display). Closure rate seemed very rapid and excessive; (we were at almost 250 KTS). I called for my First Officer to look for the traffic and when he saw the aircraft it was within 300 FT belly up to us pulling away yet still closing. He pulled away down and to the right aggressively and then passed back under us to the left. The maneuver seemed completely unsafe and erratic. The T-38; after calling visual on us; in this situation: 1) Descended to our altitude. 2) Appeared to increase closure rate. 3) Failed to maintain safe separation. 4) Failed to safely maneuver his aircraft after gaining separation. It appeared this was an intentional violation.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.