A TB-20 student pilot reported a NMAC with an aircraft flown by a pilot who ignored CTAF procedures and landed unannounced on a runway opposite prevailing traffic.

Narrative

I had received my private pilot license just 1 month prior after training in a Cessna 172. The day before this event I had purchased a Trinidad (TB-20); complex/high performance airplane. On the day of the event I was flying with an Instructor who had Trinidad experience in order to learn my complex/high performance aircraft & eventually get signed off in it. My Instructor & I were doing pattern work at my small non-towered airport. As I was exiting the runway after one of several landings; we heard an inbound pilot south of the field asking UNICOM for the surface winds & active runway. When UNICOM did not answer after several seconds; I keyed the mike to tell the pilot that the winds were light & the active was two-zero. The inbound pilot correctly repeated that the active runway was 'two-zero'. After taxiing back to do another take-off & doing pre-takeoff checks; I was ready to announce & enter the runway 20 for departure; staying in the pattern. But first; I looked left to see if there was an aircraft on final for 20; I looked at the downwind air space for traffic in the pattern; & I looked right to see if any aircraft was landing in the wrong direction on 02. Doing this must have made me think about the inbound pilot who had radioed a few minutes prior. [There was no other traffic in the area talking on the radio during this time period.] I would have expected him to perhaps be on downwind by this time. I asked my Instructor where that inbound pilot was that had radioed asking the active runway. My Instructor replied that he wasn't there yet but was still way out. Trusting student that I was; I went ahead & announced departure on 20; staying in the pattern; & took off at my Instructor's direction. At about 500-700 FT (300-500 FT MSL) altitude on takeoff; my traffic sensor started aurally announcing 'traffic; traffic; traffic' repeatedly as the MFD showed traffic close & below. The small single engine airplane came in right below me; landing 02 instead of 20. My Instructor was very shaken by this event & later had words at the airport with the 81 year old inbound pilot who acted rather unconcerned about it. (As though; what's the big deal; we're all ok & nothing happened.) From this event I decided that if I were ever in such a situation in the future in which I knew there was an inbound plane but didn't know where it was; I would key the microphone & ASK. I'd heard NOTHING on the radio since the inbound pilot's proper repeat that the active runway was 20. He had evidently just come in for a straight-in landing on the opposing runway without ever announcing anything; without doing the pattern; & without regard for the fact that I had properly announced my take-off on the UNICOM frequency that we'd previously communicated on with him. Another thing that this event underscored for me is that what the instructor says isn't necessarily so. I should have been less trusting & at least have asked my instructor how he could know the inbound pilot wasn't nearby yet. I shouldn't have been concerned about not offending my instructor by questioning his judgment. After all; it's my life on the line; too. I realized that if the instructor hadn't been in the plane with me in this situation; I'd have queried before entering the runway for departure. If the instructor is wrong & loses his life because of another pilot's stupidity; I certainly don't want him taking me with him in a midair collision. I even might radio that traffic is landing south-southwest on two-zero! Plenty of pilots have landed incorrectly on the opposing runway. [About a month later when I was a passenger in the pattern to another untowered airport; I observed 2 small airplanes trying to land on opposing ends of the runway. My pilot husband seeing the error also; quickly keyed the mike to alert the pilots of the impending disaster. The pilot who erred in this case merely continued low over the whole length of Runway 5 (downwind) without landing; while his friend who had announced correctly for 23 broke right & began a climb. The erring pilot had actually announced he was landing 23 so he didn't even realize that he was about to land 05.] This type of landing error is facilitated when the runway numbers are merely the reverse of each other. Would it help in these cases (02-20 & 13-31) if people were taught to say 'north on 02 [or 02 north]; south on 20; southeast on 13; & northwest on 31? These 2 sets of runways numbers are the only cases like this.