Mike Schumann wrote:
According to the guys at our local TRACON, when they have IFR traffic
heading directly towards a mode C equipped VFR target, they issue a traffic
advisory to the IFR traffic, but do NOT make an adjustment to the IFR
traffic's flight path. They rely on the IFR pilot to visually see and avoid
the VFR traffic.

In my opinion, this is crazy. We all know how difficult it is to see and
avoid traffic visually. The FAA's rules need to change. They should be
providing separation between all IFR traffic and any other known target.

Did they explain why they used this procedure? One possibility is that
encoders used for VFR are not required to meet the same calibration
standards as encoders used for IFR, and if they are not in contact with
the VFR traffic, they can't confirm the altitude matches the encoder
output. Without knowing the altitude accurately, perhaps they are unable
to vector the IFR traffic safely around it, and must rely on "looking
out the window".

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
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