Know Your Runways!!

I'm a student pilot, but even I'm not as dumb as this asshole.

Yesterday was my first dual cross country lesson. My instructor and I decided to fly from Lafayette to Frankfort, Frankfort to Monticello, and Monticello back to Lafayette. Both Frankfort and Monticello are local, uncontrolled airports so my instructor taught me the differences in the radio calls at these airports before we left.

Well we took off and flew to Frankfort and everything went fine there, I made the radio calls we did a touch- and- go and headed for Monticello. This was when the fun started.

On the way to Monticello we discovered there was another Purdue plane(Purdue 3) ahead of us and that they were also headed to Monticello. When we began making radio calls a thid aircraft, a Saratoga, made himself known as being inbound for Monticello. About two miles out neither of the Purdue planes had seen the traffic, so Purdue 3 proceded to begin a left traffic pattern. As Purdue 3 turned base I began my downwind and as I called it the Saratoga called his own downwind for runway 18 the same runway Purdue 3 was on pattern for. At this point we began really looking for him. Purdue 3 then called its final and the Saratoga called his simultaneously.

That's when I spotted him! Coming over the trees. Purdue 3 had just landed on 18 and the Saratoga was on final for 36 the same runway running the opposite direction. They were going to crash and all because one pilot had his runways backwards. Thankfully Purdue 3 saw him and took off making a steep right turn to avoid the collision.

This is why Pilots must know their headings and how the runways are set up. Because one pilot had his runways backwards he nearly took three lives including his own. How this jackass got his license, I'll never know, but hopefully he gets his headings straight before he returns to the air.