PA31 pilot experiences a near midair collision at 11;000 ft with a B737 climbing off mco. The contro...

Narrative:

We were level at 11;000 southeast bound on an IFR flight plan crossing the orlando class B airspace. We were being vectored 'overtop mco.' a B737 was climbing out of mco; southwest bound climbing off the runway. I was asked if I had him in sight; 'I would like to keep him climbing.' I stated I had the traffic insight. It was night and in clear conditions; it was easy to see the lights on a B737. The controller told the B737 to climb and maintain 16;000 then said; 'the B737 will be crossing your altitude.' I never said I would maintain visual separation; I just said I had him insight. Next thing I knew; they were a collision factor. Our TAS system sounded and I told the controller; 'I don't think this will work.' controller said turn left (into the path of the B737) I started to roll left; but rolled the wings level. Next the B737 crew stated they had an 'RA' and took action; crossing 300-400 ft below us. Why wasn't the B737 turned 10 degrees right or vectored behind us and then climbed? Why was he issued a climb without having a visual on us? I had no way to get away. After the incident; I asked the controller for the TRACON phone number. When I got to my destination I called. The person who answered knew all about the incident. All I got out was my name and he asked; 'were you just in the navajo?' I said yes. He said I recognize your voice from the tapes. He said they have reviewed the tapes and [said that] the controller should not have issued a visual when he did. He also said the B737 climbed at a slower rate than normal. Two things to correct.... There needs to be a better route (airway) over orlando from the northwest to the southeast. I think the controllers need to leave planes on the airways; rather than vector them and allow strong winds aloft to cause drift (like today).

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA31 pilot experiences a NMAC at 11;000 FT with a B737 climbing off MCO. The controller did not tell either pilot to maintain visual separation.

Narrative: We were level at 11;000 southeast bound on an IFR flight plan crossing the Orlando Class B airspace. We were being vectored 'Overtop MCO.' A B737 was climbing out of MCO; southwest bound climbing off the runway. I was asked if I had him in sight; 'I would like to keep him climbing.' I stated I had the traffic insight. It was night and in clear conditions; it was easy to see the lights on a B737. The Controller told the B737 to climb and maintain 16;000 then said; 'the B737 will be crossing your altitude.' I never said I would maintain visual separation; I just said I had him insight. Next thing I knew; they were a collision factor. Our TAS system sounded and I told the Controller; 'I don't think this will work.' Controller said turn left (into the path of the B737) I started to roll left; but rolled the wings level. Next the B737 crew stated they had an 'RA' and took action; Crossing 300-400 FT below us. Why wasn't the B737 turned 10 degrees right or vectored behind us and then climbed? Why was he issued a climb without having a visual on us? I had no way to get away. After the incident; I asked the Controller for the TRACON phone number. When I got to my destination I called. The person who answered knew all about the incident. All I got out was my name and he asked; 'were you just in the Navajo?' I said yes. He said I recognize your voice from the tapes. He said they have reviewed the tapes and [said that] the Controller should not have issued a visual when he did. He also said the B737 climbed at a slower rate than normal. Two things to correct.... There needs to be a better route (airway) over Orlando from the northwest to the southeast. I think the Controllers need to leave planes on the airways; rather than vector them and allow strong winds aloft to cause drift (like today).

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	921439
Time
Date	201012
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	MCO.Airport
State Reference	FL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-31 Navajo/Chieftan/Mojave/T1040
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 125 Flight Crew Total 4000 Flight Crew Type 2800
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Horizontal 0 Vertical 400

PA31 pilot experiences a near midair collision at 11;000 ft with a B737 climbing off mco. The controller did not tell either pilot to maintain visual separation.