Two people died in light aircraft crash near Drymen

Crash near Drymen

A light aircraft crashed north-east of Drymen, near Loch Lomond, on 16 October 2026. Police Scotland said officers received a report of the crash at about 4.45pm. Emergency services attended and pronounced a 16-year-old boy and an 80-year-old man dead at the scene; their next of kin were informed.

The older victim was identified locally as Ian Haggis, an 80-year-old flying instructor. The available accounts do not record an official confirmation of his identity. The 16-year-old has not been identified in the supplied reports.

Aircraft and flight timeline

The aircraft was a Piper Tomahawk II. It departed Glasgow Airport at 4.17pm on its final flight and stopped transmitting at 4.37pm, a few miles north-east of Drymen, according to flight-tracking data. Emergency services were called about eight minutes later. Other accounts describe the departure as shortly after 4.15pm.

Earlier on 16 October, the aircraft flew from Cumbernauld Airport to Glasgow, then north-east to Newport-on-Tay before returning to Glasgow. It remained on the ground there for just over an hour before its final departure. Available accounts differ on some details of the earlier journey, so no more precise timetable is stated here.

Investigation and airspace restrictions

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened a safety investigation and sent a team to the crash site near Drymen to make inquiries and gather evidence. The cause of the crash had not been established in the available accounts.

Police Scotland said temporary airspace restrictions were imposed over the Drymen area to allow the investigation to proceed. The restrictions included drones, and police warned that flying in restricted airspace was a criminal offence.

Gavin Birch-Williams, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said the aircraft had departed from the airport and expressed sympathy to the people affected.