On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 3:35:53 PM UTC-5, Andrzej Kobus wrote:
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 3:37:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have been soaring since the late 70's and can recall many accidents in the past. It seems, however, that recently the accident rate has spiked. While I don't have exact data to confirm this (I'm sure our friends at the SSF have it), it seems that we are experiencing higher than average accidents and fatalities.

I find myself wondering what is causing this. Is it the complexity of gliders emerging in recent years? Is it the age/experience of the pilots? Lack of training? I don't have the answers but I would be interested in other's thoughts on the issue. One accident is too many and loss of any life is tragic.

Greig

Unfortunately, accidents have always been part of the sport. We have more slippery gliders, fly at higher wing loadings, and deal with more stresses of everyday life than any of the previous generations.
I narrowly avoided similar faith at the age of 16. It was a lesson for life that taught me a lot about how I should approach flying. That lesson was also reinforced soon after by loss of a dear friend at a very young age. Then there were many more losses and each loss made me more determined to stay focused. Flying has its risks and it demands from us proper risk mitigation techniques and learning from mistakes of others. We as glider pilots are not doing enough of it.

Well said.