At 18:38 30 June 2008, Bill Daniels wrote:

"Jim Logajan" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
The glider pilot fatality rate is one of the highest of any activity.

I've been looking for accident statistics for gliding/soaring and
haven't
come across any formal studies. So the assertion above comes somthing
as
a
surprise and it would be greatly appreciated if you can provide the
location of any supporting data. I know of some cross-modal studies
that
indicate that helicopters appear to have a higher accident rate on a
per
mile and hour flown than fixed wing aircraft, and that motorcycles are
more
dangerous than general aviation flying, but gliders weren't split out
into
their own category in those studies.

Actually, cross-modal accident studies are, in general, hard to find
so
I'm
always curious to know the source of any such claims.

It's confusing to address relative safety as it relates to the 'sport'
as
opposed to the pilot. A glider, in and of itself, is neither dangerous
or
safe. It's only when you put a human pilot in it and launch it into
the
air
that the activity can become dangerous. One statistic that comes
through
loud and clear is that 99% of all glider accidents are pilot error.

So, I tend to agree with Tom Knauf. The safety issue almost entirely
involves pilot knowledge, skill and whether the pilot chooses to use
them
on
any particular flight. If you are to survive, you must accept that
it's
only your knowledge, skills and a determination to use them on every
flight
that will assure survival.

Flying is highly Darwinian. As a pilot you must know two sets of rules.
One
set is, of course, flying regulations. The other set is Mother
Nature's
laws - like gravity, weather and aerodynamics. Regulations are to keep
you
safe. Mother Nature just wants to clean the gene pool. Cross Her and
She'll
kill you without mercy.

Bill Daniels
"If you can avoid the really stupid mistakes, what's left is
manageable."

On reflection, I believe we would all want pilot error to account for 100%
of the accidents. This would remove those accidents attributable to
equipment flaws and would make flying that much safer.