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.

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Flight Training Videos

These videos are introductory in nature and are geared to learning to soar, or a new soaring skill.

Flight Safety Videos

These videos are safety oriented and appropriate for glider pilots of any skill level.

Visit the Soaring Safety Foundation's Youtube Channelyoutube
The SSA's YouTube Video Playlist

April 4, 2015

The SSF is pleased to announce a revised web site with a new look and feel. As with any update, it will take a few days to find and fix any links that don't work. If you find a broken link or notice that something you use to use is no longer available then contact the SSF webmaster at webmaster@soaringsafety.org. Simply note the page you are looking at and the link that no longer works, or the typo that you think needs to be corrected. New features and content will be uploaded as the site stablizes. Thank you for your willingness to support the SSF. The SSF Trustees Rich, Ron, Burt, Steve, and Tom.

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 Instructional Grob 103 Twin II
Incident Activity Damage to Aircraft Damage to Canopy Incident Date Incident Time Weather SSA Member
GroundHandling None 2014-08-23 1000-1200 Not a Factor Yes
Incident Description A little after 10 AM a group of students had gotten the Grob 103 out of the hanger, installed the battery, and completed the preflight inspection. The glider was now ready to move up to the flight line for the days flying. This involves moving the glider onto the taxi-way and towing it with a car uphill to the launch point. This day one of the members had parked his jeep close to the taxiway and the crew decided to move the glider by hand around this obstacle. The decision was made to lower the left wing and this would allow the right wing tip to clear the car. While moving the glider in this manner a loud 'twang' sound was heard and it was finally realized that the right wingtip and struck the radio antenna, leaving a small mark on the bottom surface of the wing.
Other Comments Maneuvering the glider around, instead of over, the car or moving the car would have prevented this incident from occurring.

 

 

 

 


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