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 Saturday May 17, 2025

DurationGlidersFlightsHours
Year to Date  34081842421912.50
Last 7 Days  68121132236.93

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.

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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
West CFI None None Local Aero Tow Dg-400
Incident Activity Damage to Aircraft Damage to Canopy Incident Date Incident Time Weather SSA Member
Flight None 2018-12-14 1200-1400 Clear Yes
Incident Description Committed the cardinal sin of motor gliding - started engine start in close vicinity to RTS at1300’ agl. Engine started running at about 500 agl on base leg. Was late in start process. Lesson learned: At 2k’ agl, decide to land as glider or restart. Don’t vacillate.
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Find out more about the Soaring Safety Foundation: (trustees, mission, By-Laws, or Contact us by email).