Man, 80, who died in light aircraft crash near Loch Lomond named

Ian Haggis, wearing a shirt and tie and sun glasses, pictured sitting in a plane — Image caption,
Ian Haggis died when the light aircraft crashed near Loch Lomond

ByClaire Diamond

BBC Scotland

An 80-year-old man who died in a light aircraft crash is understood to be flying instructor Ian Haggis.

He and a 16-year-old boy died when their plane came down near Loch Lomond. The teenager's identity has not been released.

The pair had flown out from Glasgow Airport at 16:17 and stopped transmitting at 16:37, a few miles north east of the village of Drymen near Stirling.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at about 16:45 on Friday.

Both of them were pronounced dead at the scene.

Temporary airspace restrictions are currently in place over the area while the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) carries out its inquiries.

Map showing central Scotland with a pin where Glasgow Airport is, then a yellow line to show the aircraft's route towards Loch Lomond before it crashes near Drymen.

Tributes posted on social media by former students describe the flying instructor as "a gentleman and an experienced aviator", and a "good friend".

The plane - a Piper Tomahawk II aircraft - is registered to Leading Edge Flight Training in Renfrew, according to the Civil Aviation Authority's aircraft register., external

Previous social media posts on Leading Edge's Facebook page report the instructor's nickname as the 'Flying Haggis', and show that he had been working with the flying school.

BBC Scotland has approached Leading Edge Flight Training for comment.

Police vehicles parked in a field by a pylon in daylight — Image caption,
Police cordoned off the scene of the crash in marshland near Drymen

Gavin Birch-Williams, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: "We are aware of an incident involving a light aircraft that departed from Glasgow Airport.

"This is a deeply tragic event, and the thoughts and heartfelt sympathies from all at Glasgow Airport are with the friends and families affected."

The plane had earlier taken off from Cumbernauld Airport at 11:46, before flying 15 minutes to Glasgow Airport.

It stayed there until about 13:00, before doing a two-hour flight north east to Newport-on-Tay then turning round and heading back to Glasgow.

It was on the ground at the airport for just over an hour before it took off again and started its final flight.