Only two times really come to mind for me. During IFR trainign (In VMC) ATC told us we had traffic 1 o'clock, i'm under the hood, and my instructor seems to be "dilly dalling" so he didn't look up.Little later, ATC says, traffic is a half mile, and they'd highly recommend a change in altitude, at that point i looked over, saw him, and pushed the stick forward, then watched the red white and blue v-tail bonanza go right over. about that time, my instructor said , "hmmm, i think that would have been a collision."

And when i was instructing a future flight instructor, we were @ 6,000 doing some maneuvers, and he was having a hard time keeping his altitude. Because he was being an instructor, i decided not to correct him, and let him make the mistake and tell me what was happening, etc. Well, we ended up about 100 ft low, and then we noticed a twin go overhead, kinda freaked both of us out. I told him to climb back to six, and when we did, the other aircraft was level with us, kinda freaky to think all i would have had to do was say "get your altitude fixed" and boom, we mighta been tumbling towards the earth in a bent piece of tin.

 

I was flying LA special flight rules from SNA to BUR one day at 4500' in the cessna with a buddy and a V-tail bonanza overtook us about 100-200 ft high and to the right about 1 oclock. No warning, no nothing. He wasn't even on the LA special flight rules frequency giving position reports. Weekend warrior I assume.

 

To get out of class b airspace we would take our students down to the PVU airport... let me tell you something right now,, if you never flew there when it was uncontrolled, THEN YOU DON"T KNOW WHAT A NEAR MISS IS!!!!

 

1. Flying at night with night vision goggles once in another country. Crossed a ridge line and came face to face with a B-52 flying low level in the other direction.
2. Taking off from PFN early in the morning before tower opened with 66 PAX. I think it was 1/4 mile. Called for and got clearance from JAX center; then took the active after announcing intention to depart to the north. Just as we're about to push the power forward, we hear "Aircraft departing northbound at PFN, this is Lear 1234, on the take off roll to the south, shouldn't be a factor." FO and I look at each other with the "Did we really just hear that?" Just then the Lear goes right over us in the other direction. A minute later while I'm cleaning out my drawers, he checks in with center looking for his IFR clearance.
3. 11,000, IMC. Center tells me I have VFR traffic, 12 o'clock, 10,500, closing. "Huh?" Just then I get "CLIMB, CLIMB, CLIMB" from TCAS. Not sure how close I got (again, I was IMC), but sure got my attention.

 

My closest was leaving TYS. We were cleared to take off from 23L. (I think that is the correct rwy number) As were were about to go into position, tower came on very frantically yelling at as to hold our position. Of course I slammed on my brakes just as a light twin went screaming past our nose and landed on that runway. Tower apologized and informed us that neither him nor approach was talking to that guy. We even looked at final and didn't see anything because he was coming in on a dogleg final from behind us. Luckily the tower was on top of things or we would have been another statistic.

 

Flying with my students under the Laughlin MOA sometimes the T-38's cut under it on their way in. I'm guessing he saw me but I didn't see him till he was well within 100ft of me going opposite direction kicking on the afterburners and shooting back up to over 10K. The first time is scared me like no other. The times after that it became an issue of spotting them, they have such a small profile when in a dive, then grabbing the camera.

 

I might be splitting hairs here...but wouldn't a near-miss be an accident? Sounds to me like you're all describing near mid-airs.

 

a near miss is not an accident, by definition. It is an incident.

 

Not really a near miss but one time North bound over the Gorman pass in my EMB-110 at 9000, I was given traffic as, "Traffic your eight o'clock, a cruise missile heading for Edwards. Never saw it though.

 

Ok nearly missing something would be hitting something...

A near mid-air is not an accident... read what you wrote again there rat.