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.
Flight Training
Videos
and Scenario Database
These videos are introductory in nature and are geared to learning to soar, or a new soaring skill.
Flight Safety
Videos
and Incident Database
These videos are safety oriented and appropriate for glider pilots of any skill level.
Visit the Soaring Safety Foundation's Youtube Channel
The SSA's YouTube Video Playlist
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).