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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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 Local Aero Tow ASW-20C
Incident Activity Damage to Aircraft Damage to Canopy Incident Date Incident Time Weather SSA Member
Flight Minor 2009-03-22 1200-1400 Clear Yes
Incident Description Gear up landing.
Other Comments Relief tube in this ship drains from a tube affixed to the landing gear, requiring the gear be extended to use. On second attempt to use the system after several hours in wave, was discovered that the drain had frozen requiring some yoga-like antics to resolve the situation. This distraction led to a failure to retract the gear. Later, in the landing checklist, the gear was RETRACTED, leading to the incident. Several ways to have prevented this come to mind.


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