Purdue University Airport
LAF · KLAF · Lafayette, Indiana · Tippecanoe County · map
Purdue University Airport is a public-use airport owned by Purdue University, 2 miles southwest of Lafayette, Indiana, 606 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 10/28, is 6,600 feet of asphalt. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 94 based aircraft. The FAA counts about 117,973 takeoffs and landings a year. About 4,206 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Weather right now KLAF · observed 5:54 pm EDT (21:54 UTC), 9 minutes ago
VFR good flying weather
- Wind calm
- Visibility 10 miles or more
- Temperature 76°F (24°C), dew point 58°F (14°C)
- Altimeter 29.94 inHg
The forecast issued Sun 1:20 pm EDT (17:20 UTC), good until Mon 2:00 pm EDT (18:00 UTC)
- From Sun 2:00 pm EDT (18:00 UTC): wind from the north at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 2,500 feet VFR
- From Sun 6:00 pm EDT (22:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
- From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 2 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet VFR
- From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet VFR
The codes as issued (METAR and TAF)
METAR KLAF 112154Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/14 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP135 T02440144
TAF KLAF 111720Z 1118/1218 36005KT P6SM FEW025 FM112200 VRB04KT P6SM SKC FM120600 17002KT P6SM FEW250 FM121400 21008KT P6SM SCT200
From the National Weather Service's aviation weather service, refreshed every few minutes; times are local to the airport with UTC in brackets. For a flight, get your briefing from Flight Service or an approved provider.
Flight planning warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions · for planning, not a briefing
No SIGMET or AIRMET covers this field right now.
11 pilot reports within 100 nautical miles in the last three hours, the nearest three:
- B772 at 34,000 ft, 30 nm northwest, 5:15 pm EDT (21:15 UTC): no turbulence above 34,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
LAF UA /OV BVT340020/TM 2115/FL340/TP B772/TB NEG 340
- Report
- a routine report filed through LAF
- Where
- 20 nm north (340°) of BVT
- Time
- 21:15 UTC
- Height
- at 34,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B772
- Turbulence
- no at 34,000 ft
- B38M at 34,000 ft, 51 nm southeast, 5:04 pm EDT (21:04 UTC): light turbulence.
as filed, and in English
IND UA /OV GVR/TM 2104/FL340/TP B38M/TB LGT
- Report
- a routine report filed through IND
- Where
- over GVR
- Time
- 21:04 UTC
- Height
- at 34,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- light
- CRJ9 descending, 51 nm southeast, 4:33 pm EDT (20:33 UTC): overcast above 4,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
IND UA /OV IND/TM 2033/FLDURD/TP CRJ9/SK 040 OVC UNKN
- Report
- a routine report filed through IND
- Where
- over IND
- Time
- 20:33 UTC
- Height
- during the descent
- Aircraft
- CRJ9
- Sky
- at 4,000 ft overcast unknown
Winds aloft at the nearest forecast point (IND, 51 nm southeast), for use 20:00–03:00 UTC: 3,000 ft: 320° at 10 kt; 6,000 ft: 350° at 30 kt, 16 °C; 9,000 ft: 350° at 32 kt, 10 °C; 12,000 ft: 350° at 30 kt, 4 °C; 18,000 ft: 340° at 31 kt, -10 °C.
No temporary flight restriction within 50 nautical miles.
The full picture: all warnings and reports, winds to 39,000 ft, radar and forecast charts
From the government's aviation weather service and the FAA's restriction list, refreshed every few minutes. This is for planning; the legal briefing comes from Flight Service or the FAA's own tools. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 623 departures from LAF in those twelve months, carrying 18,334 passengers in 34,053 seats (54% filled), to 35 destinations (2 abroad) on 14 airlines.
All 35 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
The airport
- Codes
- FAA LAF · ICAO KLAF
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Purdue University
- Elevation
- 606 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower · 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
- Attended
- Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- Notes
- certified for airline service (Part 139)
- On the chart
- Chicago sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 1W
- In the FAA's files since
- April 1940
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/28 | 6,600 × 150 ft | Asphalt, good | High-intensity lights |
| 05/23 | 4,225 × 100 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 10: ILS, PAPI, four lights on the left, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR), trees 97 ft high 3,381 ft from the end
- Runway 28: VASI, four boxes on the right, trees 51 ft high 2,057 ft from the end
- Runway 05: PAPI, two lights on the left
- Runway 23: PAPI, two lights on the left, threshold displaced 323 ft, 3,912 ft available for landing, fence 11 ft high 287 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 119.6 | Lafayette |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 127.75 | Lafayette |
| Ground | 121.9 | Lafayette |
| Approach and departure · Lafayette and center (remote transmitter) Low | 123.85 | Lafayette |
| Lafayette and rco | 122.2 | Lafayette |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 765-743-9687.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 81 |
| multi-engine | 8 |
| jets | 3 |
| helicopters | 2 |
Takeoffs and landings a year about 117,973, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 103 |
| air taxi and commuter | 25,361 |
| general aviation, travelling | 33,956 |
| general aviation, local | 58,389 |
| military | 164 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
Aircraft registered in Lafayette from the FAA register
86 aircraft are registered to owners in Lafayette, Indiana: 58 piston singles, 13 drones, 8 piston twins, 5 helicopters, 1 turboprop. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in Indiana.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (high- and low-pressure), bulk oxygen (high- and low-pressure)
- Also here
- air ambulance, avionics, charter flights, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Frankfort Clinton County Regional (19 nm southeast), White County (19 nm northeast), Crawfordsville Regional (26 nm south).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in Indiana · avgas.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes in Lafayette, by their names on the register:
- Attica Flyers INC 1 aircraft
Repair stations in Lafayette:
Companies in the same town as this airport; not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
7 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 7 for private pilot, 7 for commercial and instrument, 1 for airline transport pilot, 6 for flight instructor, 3 for sport pilot, 1 for type ratings; 7 for airplanes, 7 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 7 aviation medical examiners, 3 mechanic examiners, 1 airworthiness representative (maintenance), 1 engineering representative, 2 training center evaluators, 20 aircrew program designees.
- Brian Glenn Dillman private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Purdue University · West Lafayette, IN (1 nm) · (765) 409-4501 · dillman@purdue.edu
- Larry Wayne Gross private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Purdue University · West Lafayette, IN (1 nm) · (765) 476-6603 · lwgross@purdue.edu
- James Paulsen private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Purdue Aviation, LLC · West Lafayette, IN (5 nm) · (703) 498-7930 · hoserfa18@mac.com
- James Carroll Buehler private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, type ratings, private pilot (proficiency), instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Indianapolis Executive Airport TYQ · Zionsville, IN (39 nm) · (317) 225-2757 · jcb@buehlerlaw.com
- John Henderson private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Jet Access - TYQ · Zionsville, IN (39 nm) · (812) 596-4627 · dpejohn145@gmail.com
- Steven Edward Stombaugh private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Danville, IN (42 nm) · (317) 272-6180 · dpe@stomav.com
- David John Mino private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport - UMP · Fishers, IN (50 nm) · (317) 691-3872 · dminodpe@gmail.com
All 41 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
- DER-T: Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf.
- TCE: Training Center Evaluator: gives tests at a simulator training center.
- APD: Aircrew Program Designee: an airline's own check pilot who gives the FAA's tests to the airline's pilots.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 30 since 1982, 4 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- When the control tower closed activate approach lights (MALSR) runway 10; runway end identifier lights runway 5, 23 and 28; medium-intensity runway lights runway 5/23; high-intensity runway lights runway 10/28 - the common traffic frequency.
- Runway 05/23 not available for part 121/PART 380 operations with schedule passenger carrying operations more than 9 passenger seats and unscheduled passenger carrying operations more than 30 passenger seats. Wingspan gtr than 79 feet NA.
- PAPI unusable beyond 9 degreess right of centerline.
- 20:1 at displaced threshold.
- Training operations and birds in the vicinity of airport.
- Surface condition unmnt 10:00 pm to 6:00 am or wkend.
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Lafayette 86 aircraft · 58 piston singles, 13 drones, 8 piston twins
- Topside AG LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Berkey Aviation LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Str Holdings LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Lease One LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Attica Flyers INC 1 aircraft · flight school
- General Electric Company · repair station
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) 561 flights in twelve months · SkyWest Airlines Inc., Southern Airways Express, dba Mokulele Airlines
- John Glenn Columbus International (CMH) 6 flights in twelve months · Republic Airline, United Air Lines Inc.
- Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain (MSP) 5 flights in twelve months · Sun Country Airlines d/b/a MN Airlines, United Air Lines Inc.
- South Bend International (SBN) 5 flights in twelve months · SkyWest Airlines Inc., Republic Airline
- Purdue University (LAF) 4 flights in twelve months · SkyWest Airlines Inc.
- Los Angeles International (LAX) 4 flights in twelve months · United Air Lines Inc., Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze
- Dane County Rgnl/Truax Field (MSN) 3 flights in twelve months · Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze, Republic Airline
- Boeing Fld/King County International (BFI) 2 flights in twelve months · Allegiant Air, Breeze Aviation Group DBA Breeze
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 30 since 1982 · 4 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Indiana 1,363 since 1982 · 177 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Indiana 131 landing places
- Indiana 5,688 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/LAF.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 9, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.