Originally Posted by punkalouver
All of a sudden I get a TA with the TCAS display showing traffic at my altitude and converging from the left. Moments later ATC says traffic at two o'clock, descend immediately and nearly simultaneously, I get a RA saying to climb. There is no other traffic displayed on my TCAS display. I do the rational thing and follow the RA .........
By the way, if in this scenario there actually was an intruder at my two o'clock with no altitude given as pointed out by ATC(perhaps due to mode C not working), I would not go opposite to the RA.
This is wonderful. You give us two different courses of action depending on whether there isn't an airplane where ATC says it is or whether there is.
Need I say it: if you have this trustworthy information, then you don't need either TCAS or ATC.
Let me show you a different way of thinking (I emphasise the word "thinking"
).
You paint an intruder at 10 o'clock. ATC gives you a descent for traffic at 2 o'clock. You don't descend (which would be against the RA).
BAM! In the few seconds of consciousness available to you, you might like to consider where your reasoning went wrong. Maybe it was because the likelihood is rather high that there is actually an airplane where ATC implies there is an airplane, even if your on-board kit doesn't see it; or maybe .... sorry, that's all folks.
I'll offer to write your epitaph. First proposal: "I've proved I'd do what I said I'd do".
PBL