Narrative:

[We had to] respond to an RA. We were talking to phoenix approach control for our arrival to kiwa. We were cleared to descend from 10;000 to 9;000 to 8;000 ft and finally 7;000 ft MSL. We were given a heading of 220. While descending from 8;000 ft; approach control alerted us of traffic coming in our direction at 6;500 ft. About 15 seconds later the traffic appeared on the TCAS screen. While descending through 7;400 ft MSL; we heard the TCAS say; 'traffic; traffic.' as we were leveling at 7;000 ft; the TCAS said; 'monitor vertical speed.' the vsi showed a red arc in the lower half advising us not to descend and about a 200 ft green arc; but did not advise us to climb. Approach control then said if we do not have the traffic in sight; turn 10 degrees to the right; which we did; and advised approach control of such. I noticed the aircraft coming towards us was continuing to climb. I instructed the first officer to begin a climb. He hesitated until the TCAS; then called out; 'climb; climb.' the first officer turned off the autopilot and auto-throttles and began a climb. I informed approach control we were deviating from our assigned altitude in response to an RA. We climbed to about 7;500 ft; I saw a DA42 diamond twin star pass off our left wing and below us. When the traffic was clear; approach control cleared us for a visual approach to runway 30R [at] kiwa. We had to maneuver to get down because the oncoming traffic caused us to be higher than normal. We were in a normal approach path 4 miles from touchdown and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.phoenix approach control continually vectors us directly toward and descends/climbs us into conflicting traffic as they did today. There was no other traffic observed on the TCAS during our approach and landing at the airport except the aircraft that ATC gave us a heading that took us directly head on with. Knowing that our arrival gate takes us through flight school practice areas and an aerobatic box; ATC should never descend us to an altitude within 500 ft of any traffic in the area as they may be making unusual; unpredictable; and rapid maneuvers. The best solution to this ongoing issue is to make kiwa a class C airport and require every aircraft in our approach path to be in radio contact with ATC. ATC also conducts training and student controllers are directing our flights. In these cases; closer supervision should be required. Our luck will run out with close calls occurring on such a frequent basis. Corrective action needs to be taken to protect the airspace for arriving jet traffic to prevent an accident.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier inbound to KIWA experienced a TCAS RA with issued traffic. The reporter expressed concern with ATC procedures and existing airspace configuration/s.

Narrative: [We had to] respond to an RA. We were talking to Phoenix Approach Control for our arrival to KIWA. We were cleared to descend from 10;000 to 9;000 to 8;000 FT and finally 7;000 FT MSL. We were given a heading of 220. While descending from 8;000 FT; Approach Control alerted us of traffic coming in our direction at 6;500 FT. About 15 seconds later the traffic appeared on the TCAS screen. While descending through 7;400 FT MSL; we heard the TCAS say; 'Traffic; Traffic.' As we were leveling at 7;000 FT; the TCAS said; 'Monitor vertical speed.' The VSI showed a red arc in the lower half advising us not to descend and about a 200 FT green arc; but did not advise us to climb. Approach Control then said if we do not have the traffic in sight; turn 10 degrees to the right; which we did; and advised Approach Control of such. I noticed the aircraft coming towards us was continuing to climb. I instructed the First Officer to begin a climb. He hesitated until the TCAS; then called out; 'Climb; climb.' The First Officer turned off the autopilot and auto-throttles and began a climb. I informed Approach Control we were deviating from our assigned altitude in response to an RA. We climbed to about 7;500 FT; I saw a DA42 Diamond Twin Star pass off our left wing and below us. When the traffic was clear; Approach Control cleared us for a visual approach to Runway 30R [at] KIWA. We had to maneuver to get down because the oncoming traffic caused us to be higher than normal. We were in a normal approach path 4 miles from touchdown and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.Phoenix Approach Control continually vectors us directly toward and descends/climbs us into conflicting traffic as they did today. There was no other traffic observed on the TCAS during our approach and landing at the airport except the aircraft that ATC gave us a heading that took us directly head on with. Knowing that our arrival gate takes us through flight school practice areas and an aerobatic box; ATC should never descend us to an altitude within 500 FT of any traffic in the area as they may be making unusual; unpredictable; and rapid maneuvers. The best solution to this ongoing issue is to make KIWA a class C airport and require every aircraft in our approach path to be in radio contact with ATC. ATC also conducts training and student controllers are directing our flights. In these cases; closer supervision should be required. Our luck will run out with close calls occurring on such a frequent basis. Corrective action needs to be taken to protect the airspace for arriving jet traffic to prevent an accident.

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.