TRACON controller described a near midair collision between a traffic pattern arrival and a departin...

Attributes
ACN	1071943
Time
Date	201303
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Departure Approach
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Person 2
Function	Supervisor / CIC
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Narrative:

While working n-ar; I observed a C172 on an s-ar tag approximately 1 mile east of the airport. At the time; I thought that the C172 had executed a go-around on runway yyr. The aircraft had arrived [at the airport] from the south. As I scanned my display; I then noticed that the C172 appeared to be turning towards the airport from the east lining up for runway xxr. The aircraft at this point was less than a mile from the airport and I said out loud 'what's [the C172] doing'. As I spoke; I observed a limited data block in close proximity to [a C172] opposite direction departing. The tags merged. Local 1 called and pointed out [the C172] to my sector advising he was going to put him on the left downwind. R453 checked on the frequency and advised he had a near miss with [the C172]. I took the information from R453 and gave him the facility phone number so that he could discuss the event with the front line manager. I advised local 1 to instruct [the C172] to fly heading 290 and I would vector him back to final. [The C172] landed runway yyl without further incident.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: TRACON Controller described a NMAC between a traffic pattern arrival and a departing aircraft; the reports indicating the arrival aircraft was a student pilot who entered the pattern incorrectly.

Narrative: While working N-AR; I observed a C172 on an S-AR tag approximately 1 mile east of the airport. At the time; I thought that the C172 had executed a go-around on Runway YYR. The aircraft had arrived [at the airport] from the south. As I scanned my display; I then noticed that the C172 appeared to be turning towards the airport from the east lining up for Runway XXR. The aircraft at this point was less than a mile from the airport and I said out loud 'What's [the C172] doing'. As I spoke; I observed a limited data block in close proximity to [a C172] opposite direction departing. The tags merged. Local 1 called and pointed out [the C172] to my sector advising he was going to put him on the left downwind. R453 checked on the frequency and advised he had a near miss with [the C172]. I took the information from R453 and gave him the facility phone number so that he could discuss the event with the Front Line Manager. I advised Local 1 to instruct [the C172] to fly heading 290 and I would vector him back to final. [The C172] landed Runway YYL without further incident.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.

TRACON controller described a near midair collision between a traffic pattern arrival and a departing aircraft; the reports indicating the arrival aircraft was a student pilot who entered the pattern incorrectly.