Soaring Safety Foundation

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 Thursday February 26, 2026

Duration	Gliders	Flights	Hours
Year to Date	357	3290	1693.08
Last 7 Days	93	357	180

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

Flight Training
Videos , CFI Webinars , 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
Midwest	CFI	None	None	Local	Aero Tow	SGS 2-33
Incident Activity	Damage to Aircraft	Damage to Canopy	Incident Date	Incident Time	Weather	SSA Member
Flight	None		2024-10-05	1000-1200	Clear	Yes
Incident Description	1.) 5th Oct 2024 a SGS 2-33 had an uneventful takeoff for the first O-Flt of the day. 2.) On pattern entry and approach to landing the spoilers stuck open and the IP had to make an off-field landing. 3.) The off field landing was accomplished without injury or damage to the glider. Per CAPR 160-2 5.1.5.2 any off airport landing irrespective of cause is designated a near miss. 4.) The screw that secures the top left side of the rear pilot’s backrest and anchors the brace to the spoiler bellcrank was missing. The resulting play in the spoiler system caused the spoilers to lock open. The rivet nut securing the screw appears to have broken free.
Other Comments	Add to preflight checklist a feel at the back of the bolt to make sure it was still retained correctly. Another experienced instructor advised that this had occurred to him in the past. There is a powerpoint that has drawings / photos diagrams etc.