Narrative:

I received clearance to take off from runway 13; follow the cessna ahead; and make left closed traffic. After takeoff; upon reaching 700 feet I turned crosswind; forgetting to instead follow the cessna ahead. As I continued climbing to 1;000 feet on crosswind leg; tower informed me that I had cut off the cessna traffic in front of me and to make a 360. The transmission was somewhat garbled; and I only heard the phrase '360'; I did not hear the direction in which to turn; so I made the decision to turn to the right and began a right 360 at a standard rate of turn. Soon after I started this turn I came in sight of the cessna traffic; which I had cut off on its left downwind leg and was until that point hidden behind my right wing; as I was flying in the opposite direction. Since this was now a head-on situation; I turned hard right to avoid the traffic. Once the planes were clear of each other; tower called me back in after one touch and go to land full stop and return to the [FBO]. I was informed after I returned to the [FBO] that the tower had in fact instructed me to make a left 360 instead of the right 360 which I had began to make; and as a result had made a non-ideal; but still very fixable; situation into a very dangerous one.I first neglected to follow the cessna traffic ahead of me; which led to my turning crosswind leg early and cutting off that traffic. In the future; I must be much more cognizant of surrounding traffic and my takeoff clearance instructions. When tower instructed me to make a 360 to avoid the cessna traffic; I did not ask for clarification as far as the direction in which to turn because I was more preoccupied with maneuvering as soon as I could; rather than waiting and making the correct maneuver which would have been much less dangerous. In the future; I must remember to always ask for clarification before performing maneuvers in the pattern if I do not hear them clearly the first time. I also must be more aware of the general traffic pattern flow; because I should have realized that turning a left 360 would not put me in a head-on situation; while a right 360 would; and did.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C152 student pilot reported a near mid-air collision with another aircraft in traffic pattern.

Narrative: I received clearance to take off from Runway 13; follow the Cessna ahead; and make left closed traffic. After takeoff; upon reaching 700 feet I turned crosswind; forgetting to instead follow the Cessna ahead. As I continued climbing to 1;000 feet on crosswind leg; Tower informed me that I had cut off the Cessna traffic in front of me and to make a 360. The transmission was somewhat garbled; and I only heard the phrase '360'; I did not hear the direction in which to turn; so I made the decision to turn to the right and began a right 360 at a standard rate of turn. Soon after I started this turn I came in sight of the Cessna traffic; which I had cut off on its left downwind leg and was until that point hidden behind my right wing; as I was flying in the opposite direction. Since this was now a head-on situation; I turned hard right to avoid the traffic. Once the planes were clear of each other; Tower called me back in after one touch and go to land full stop and return to the [FBO]. I was informed after I returned to the [FBO] that the Tower had in fact instructed me to make a left 360 instead of the right 360 which I had began to make; and as a result had made a non-ideal; but still very fixable; situation into a very dangerous one.I first neglected to follow the Cessna traffic ahead of me; which led to my turning crosswind leg early and cutting off that traffic. In the future; I must be much more cognizant of surrounding traffic and my takeoff clearance instructions. When tower instructed me to make a 360 to avoid the Cessna traffic; I did not ask for clarification as far as the direction in which to turn because I was more preoccupied with maneuvering as soon as I could; rather than waiting and making the correct maneuver which would have been much less dangerous. In the future; I must remember to always ask for clarification before performing maneuvers in the pattern if I do not hear them clearly the first time. I also must be more aware of the general traffic pattern flow; because I should have realized that turning a left 360 would not put me in a head-on situation; while a right 360 would; and did.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.