A C172 instructor reported a near midair collision after departing auo and making position reports o...

Narrative:

On return flight from a cross country between auburn airport and our destination; student and instructor were departing auburn airspace. We maintained runway heading till tpa; then announced intentions for departure toward northwest; direct our destination. Student was navigating via pilotage and instructor was checking chart momentarily. Both were continuously listening for radio reports as well as scanning for local traffic. Near midair collision approximately 15 NM to the northwest of auburn (auo) at 2;900. We had given several position reports stating intentions departure heading; and only heard one vague 'to the north' position reported from what is assumed to be the other aircraft. Instructor looked up and saw another aircraft was approaching head on. Other aircraft (small single engine; model unknown) took evasive action and made a diving turn to the right. Contributing factors to the incident were vague position reporting from other aircraft in the area; and momentary pause in scanning to reference a chart. Corrective actions will be an increased level of situational awareness as well as increased position reporting on student and instructor future flights.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C172 Instructor reported a NMAC after departing AUO and making position reports on UNICOM which were not acknowledged.

Narrative: On return flight from a cross country between Auburn airport and our destination; student and instructor were departing Auburn airspace. We maintained runway heading till TPA; then announced intentions for departure toward northwest; direct our destination. Student was navigating via pilotage and Instructor was checking chart momentarily. Both were continuously listening for radio reports as well as scanning for local traffic. Near midair collision approximately 15 NM to the northwest of Auburn (AUO) at 2;900. We had given several position reports stating intentions departure heading; and only heard one vague 'to the north' position reported from what is assumed to be the other aircraft. Instructor looked up and saw another aircraft was approaching head on. Other aircraft (small single engine; model unknown) took evasive action and made a diving turn to the right. Contributing factors to the incident were vague position reporting from other aircraft in the area; and momentary pause in scanning to reference a chart. Corrective actions will be an increased level of situational awareness as well as increased position reporting on student and instructor future flights.

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.

Attributes
ACN	915395
Time
Date	201010
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	AUO.Airport
State Reference	AL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft
Person 1
Function	Instructor Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30 Flight Crew Total 450 Flight Crew Type 300
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Horizontal 50 Vertical 10

A C172 instructor reported a near midair collision after departing auo and making position reports on unicom which were not acknowledged.