Hotdog.
I have been in that situation. What are you getting at? I think you have misunderstood my point.
I don't believe TCAS can be used as a primary seperation tool. If you think otherwise...........
TCAS RA in conflict with an ATC instruction.
That situation
still hasn't been sorted out. There has been no change in Russian thinking, and threads on pprune have indicated many, many pilots are operating under conflicting instructions as to what to do TCAS vs ATC (latest was the Japanese one? pilots charged with not following ATC?). So, whilst
you may follow the RA, how do you know what the other guy is doing? A totally unacceptable situation. The TCAS version about to be released has enhanced resolution logic which will not ask the aircraft to cross levels unless absolutely necessary, something the current versions pay no heed to. I have long thought this a serious flaw. As I said, TCAS has a raft of issues, so using it as a primary seperation tool in classE is dangerous and irresponsible. NASites will tell you that see and avoid is the primary seperation device, but in practice that isn't the case between jets and lighties (ie. "the 421 pilot reported at no time did he sight the B737").
What I was really trying to say, in relation to the opening post,
So, despite plenty of genuine saves it is slowly beginning to sink in that TCAS is not infallible either. It can make a bad situation rotten or, as in this instance, make a fully controlled situation go pear-shaped.
Good thing we aren't relying on it for collision avoidance in the NAS airspace!
TCAS has produced a subtle change, an extra empowerment if you will, to the cockpit. A pilot is no longer blindly following instructions, and has a partial situation display in TCAS. This isn't going to change, and will only grow as technology grows. ATCs need to help that "partial" SA with as much info as they can. Otherwise you will keep getting situations , as described in the topic, where the controller "loses control" (the pilot follows an RA) where there was no danger. Further, the implied reliance that is going on in E is a disgrace. The rules have leapt ahead of technology. Eventually ADSB might provide what is being sought for NAS, but TCAS doesn't.