International Ski Federation Bans Camera Drones After Crash Incident

The International Ski Federation is now banning camera drones.

The drone was carrying a TV camera for the crew broadcasting the event and crashed just behind the Austrian World Champion, not that he seemed to notice. ‘This can never happen again. “This (could have caused) a serious injury”.

In this footage Hirscher is making short turns through the alternating red and blue pole gates as the large camera hits the ground behind him.

(CNN)Defending World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher had a lucky escape Tuesday after he narrowly avoided being hit by a falling drone.

The Austrian has won the overall World Cup in each of the last four seasons and, following the race in Madonna di Campiglio, now leads this season’s competition.

“I didn’t know what it was, but I felt something”, said Hirscher, who was unhurt and continued his run, finishing second behind Norwegian victor Henrik Kristoffersen. As NPR reported earlier this month, a new study showed there were more than 300 incidents of “close encounters” between drones and manned aircraft in USA airspace in less than two years. “But it is allowed in Italy”, he said. “We agreed with (broadcasters) that drones could not fly over the racecourse but only in a corridor next to the slope, but it flew more and more into the slope”. As the drone shattered into tiny pieces, a very loud message about the dangers of drone use in professional sports was exemplified on the world stage.

There were seven recorded near misses involving drones in the 12 months to July.

Measures being considered include fitting drones with Global Positioning System chips and requiring online registration to ensure police can trace owners rapidly.