A teenage boy who died in a horrific air crash with his 80-year-old flying instructor was on only his 10th flying exercise, it has emerged.
The 16-year-old was killed when their Piper Tomahawk II crashed during a lesson near Loch Lomond on Friday afternoon.
The teenager, who has not been named by police, and flying instructor Ian Haggis were killed after the plane came down in a field north east of Drymen, Stirlingshire.
His parents and the instructor’s wife were called to a portable cabin at Glasgow Airport on Friday after the two-seater plane went missing where they were given the grim news.
One aviation expert told The Daily Mail: ‘It is so tragic. The young lad was only on his 10th exercise. It’s hard to get your head around something like this happening.’
Retired company director and local resident Stuart Abernethy said that he witnessed the last few moments of the plane’s journey from his driveway.
The plane crashed during the teenager's tenth flying lesson near Loch Lomond
The 45-year-old Piper Tomahawk II took off from Glasgow Airport at 4.15pm on on Friday afternoon
‘I was standing in the drive and I heard an aircraft engine over-revving.
‘I looked up... and I saw probably for about the last 10 seconds a light aircraft coming down in a spiral. I didn’t see it land and I didn’t hear anything - but I just saw it vanish from sight.
‘There was no smoke, no impact sound or anything like that. And then nothing.’
He added: ‘It was low and it wasn’t in a sort of dive trajectory, it just literally fell out of the sky in a spiral with the engine revving and then a total silence after that.
‘Normally we hear training flights and hear them recover and minutes later they appear and you’re relieved. But there was just deathly silence after that.’
Tributes were paid on social media to instructor Mr Haggis, who was known as the Flying Haggis.
One person said: ‘My good friend and instructor Ian Haggis was killed yesterday in an air accident. My heart goes to his family.’
Mr Haggis was also described as a ‘gentleman and a very experienced aviator’.
Another said: ‘Heart breaking. What a legend. Only God knows what happened.’
Mr Haggis worked with Renfrew-based Leading Edge Flight Training, whose Facebook page shows a photograph of him giving a flying lesson to a student last year.
They said: ‘We are devastated by this tragic accident involving one of our aircraft and two close members of our Leading Edge family.
‘Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and loved ones of those who lost their lives.
‘Leading Edge Flight Training is assisting with the investigation.’
An aviation industry insider said: ‘I’ve known Ian for a long time, he’s a lovely man.
‘Very generous, and passionate about flying, always wanting to help others learn. This is such a tragedy.’
Tributes were made on social media to Ian Haggis, described as a 'legend'
Emergency services pronounced both Mr Haggis and the 16-year-old dead at the crash site
A previous company that Mr Haggis worked for, Phoenix Flight Training in Cumbernauld, described him on its website as an experienced commercial pilot.
It states: ‘Ian has had an interesting flying career to date, initially instructing RAF Scholarship students before moving on to become a commercial flight instructor.
‘He spent many years as an air taxi pilot - transporting passengers and freight, air ambulance and traffic “eye in the sky” before moving on to become a corporate pilot.’
His plane, a 45-year-old Piper Tomahawk II, took off from Glasgow Airport shortly on Friday at 4.15pm and stopped transmitting around 20 minutes later.
Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at about 4.45pm. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
It is not known who was flying the plane at the time.
The minimum age to begin logging hours for a pilot’s licence is 14, but the minimum age for flying solo is 16. A pilot’s licence needs 45 hours of flight time.
The teenager was on his 10th flying exercise when the crash happened.
The crash site was cordoned off by Police Scotland and a tarpaulin was draped over the plane. Temporary airspace restrictions, including drones, were put in place.
In a statement, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said: ‘An investigation has begun into an accident involving a light aircraft which occurred on October 16 2026.
‘A team has travelled to the accident site near Drymen, north of Glasgow, to make inquiries and gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a safety investigation.’
Gavin Birch-Williams, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: ‘This is a deeply tragic event, and the thoughts and heartfelt sympathies from all at Glasgow Airport are with the friends and families affected.’