Narrative:

[We were] making straight in to runway 29 following the RNAV 29 procedure. Tower asked for distance call outs which we provided. Other traffic on right downwind was told they would be number two behind us. Other traffic was given a left 360 turn back on to downwind. We did not hear this instruction to the other traffic. We were on the descent to runway 29 and at about two miles (900 ft); the other aircraft appeared at 12 o'clock and maybe 200 ft above; wings level. Aircraft was not seen before it was very close. Bottom of aircraft was dirty white and clouds were gray. Aircraft passed overhead before I could take evasive action. I immediately notified the tower that traffic had just passed directly over us. After landing; on ground control; I advised the tower I would call them on the land line. Called tower and spoke to manager. A while later; I received a call from the aircraft owner; he said the pilot was still flying.almost an hour later; I received a call from the pilot. We talked about the incident. The pilot is not from this area and did not seem familiar with the area. His location on the downwind put him over the waters of long island sound so he had very little ground reference for his 360 turn back on to the down wind. I asked him about the wind and he stated 340 at 6. We discussed the wind at pattern altitude and I suggested it might be much stronger and more from the north (local knowledge). He agreed the wind and lack of ground references over the water could have allowed him to drift down wind during his 360 turn on downwind. The lack of radar at this airport was a direct factor in this near midair collision! The FAA commitment to install radar in 1994 has still not been fulfilled! I have been a pilot for over 50 years. This is my fourth near midair collision at this airport! Three of the four near midair collision's have occurred since 1994; when the FAA said they would install radar. All three would have been prevented with radar in the tower! Can somebody please tell me if a mid air collision is a requirement for radar to be installed at sikorsky memorial airport?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An instructor in a light aircraft reported NMAC with another light aircraft maneuvering for an approach. The instructor feels BDR should have radar for a safer operation.

Narrative: [We were] making straight in to Runway 29 following the RNAV 29 procedure. Tower asked for distance call outs which we provided. Other traffic on right downwind was told they would be number two behind us. Other traffic was given a left 360 turn back on to downwind. We did not hear this instruction to the other traffic. We were on the descent to Runway 29 and at about two miles (900 FT); the other aircraft appeared at 12 o'clock and maybe 200 FT above; wings level. Aircraft was not seen before it was very close. Bottom of aircraft was dirty white and clouds were gray. Aircraft passed overhead before I could take evasive action. I immediately notified the Tower that traffic had just passed directly over us. After landing; on Ground Control; I advised the Tower I would call them on the land line. Called Tower and spoke to manager. A while later; I received a call from the aircraft owner; he said the pilot was still flying.Almost an hour later; I received a call from the pilot. We talked about the incident. The pilot is not from this area and did not seem familiar with the area. His location on the downwind put him over the waters of Long Island Sound so he had very little ground reference for his 360 turn back on to the down wind. I asked him about the wind and he stated 340 at 6. We discussed the wind at pattern altitude and I suggested it might be much stronger and more from the North (local knowledge). He agreed the wind and lack of ground references over the water could have allowed him to drift down wind during his 360 turn on downwind. The lack of RADAR at this airport was a direct factor in this NMAC! The FAA commitment to install RADAR in 1994 has still not been fulfilled! I have been a pilot for over 50 years. This is my fourth NMAC at this airport! Three of the four NMAC's have occurred since 1994; when the FAA said they would install RADAR. All three would have been prevented with RADAR in the Tower! Can somebody please tell me if a Mid Air Collision is a requirement for RADAR to be installed at Sikorsky Memorial Airport?

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.