The Soaring Safety Foundation (SSF) is the Training and Safety arm of the Soaring Society of America (SSA). Our mission is to provide instructors and pilots with the tools needed to teach/learn both the stick & rudder skills and the Aeronautical Decision Making skills needed to safely fly a glider. We also provide information and analysis of incident and accident trends in order to develop better training tools.

 

Data collected from Open Glider Network (OGN) as of Sunday March 16, 2025

DurationGlidersFlightsHours
Year to Date  155073197316.57
Last 7 Days  53518672091.49

This table shows the number of individual gliders that recorded a flight in the OGN tracking system ant the number of flights/hours those gliders flew.

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The Soaring Incident Database is now available to help pilots, safety officers, clubs, and commercial operators develop new programs that can help prevent incidents from becoming major accidents. See more incidents by searching the database or register a new incident.

Region Pilot Certificate Pilot Injuries Passenger Injuries Type of Flight Launch Method Type of Aircraft
East CFI None None CrossCountry Aero Tow
Incident Activity Damage to Aircraft Damage to Canopy Incident Date Incident Time Weather SSA Member
Flight None 2021-03-24 1600-1800 Clear Yes
Incident Description While taxiing clear of runway after landing, applied brake too hard while turning, resulting in groundloop at approx 20 kts. Severe damage to ego.
Other Comments Don't brake aggressively while turning. Don't get so focused on stopping at a particular (convenient) point that exceeds safe stopping limits.


Find out more about the Soaring Safety Foundation: (trustees, mission, By-Laws, or Contact us by email).