Narrative:

I was under the hood in left seat making practice localizer 21 approach to ckb. Tower had already cleared us to land. At about 8.6 DME from VOR (or about 5 mi from runway) tower asked how far we were from airport. I answered that we were about 8 DME from the VORTAC. Tower cleared the cessna to enter pattern in front of us. At about 3 mi and 2000 ft my safety pilot in right seat saw the cessna below and to our left on base leg. We called out traffic to tower and asked what they wished us to do. The tower didn't respond, so we called again. Finally the tower told us to s-turn and land #2. I was too close and fast for that, so I asked to do a 360 degree turn. Tower told us to do a 360 degree turn to right which involved a lot of climbing to clear hills near airport. Contributing factors: both local radars were out, and in spite of '10 mi visibility' haze was very thick, so tower couldn't see traffic it was trying to control. My answer to tower's question was not what she expected. She wanted distance from airport, but I gave distance from VORTAC (more precise, but not what asked).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A COMMERCIAL RATED PLT FLYING A PA28 NEAR CKB EXECUTED A MISSED APCH AFTER REALIZING A CONFLICT WITH ANOTHER ACFT CLRED TO LAND BEFORE HIM.

Narrative: I WAS UNDER THE HOOD IN L SEAT MAKING PRACTICE LOC 21 APCH TO CKB. TWR HAD ALREADY CLRED US TO LAND. AT ABOUT 8.6 DME FROM VOR (OR ABOUT 5 MI FROM RWY) TWR ASKED HOW FAR WE WERE FROM ARPT. I ANSWERED THAT WE WERE ABOUT 8 DME FROM THE VORTAC. TWR CLRED THE CESSNA TO ENTER PATTERN IN FRONT OF US. AT ABOUT 3 MI AND 2000 FT MY SAFETY PLT IN R SEAT SAW THE CESSNA BELOW AND TO OUR L ON BASE LEG. WE CALLED OUT TFC TO TWR AND ASKED WHAT THEY WISHED US TO DO. THE TWR DIDN'T RESPOND, SO WE CALLED AGAIN. FINALLY THE TWR TOLD US TO S-TURN AND LAND #2. I WAS TOO CLOSE AND FAST FOR THAT, SO I ASKED TO DO A 360 DEG TURN. TWR TOLD US TO DO A 360 DEG TURN TO R WHICH INVOLVED A LOT OF CLBING TO CLR HILLS NEAR ARPT. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: BOTH LCL RADARS WERE OUT, AND IN SPITE OF '10 MI VISIBILITY' HAZE WAS VERY THICK, SO TWR COULDN'T SEE TFC IT WAS TRYING TO CTL. MY ANSWER TO TWR'S QUESTION WAS NOT WHAT SHE EXPECTED. SHE WANTED DISTANCE FROM ARPT, BUT I GAVE DISTANCE FROM VORTAC (MORE PRECISE, BUT NOT WHAT ASKED).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.