The 16-year-old boy who died in a devastating light-aircraft crash alongside his 80-year-old flying instructor was completing just his 10th flight lesson, it has emerged.
The teenager was killed when the Piper Tomahawk II came down during a training flight near Loch Lomond on Friday afternoon.
Police have not released the boy’s name. He and instructor Ian Haggis died after the two-seater aircraft crashed in a field north-east of Drymen in Stirlingshire.
After the aircraft disappeared, the teenager’s parents and Mr Haggis’s wife were summoned to a portable cabin at Glasgow Airport, where they were given the devastating news.
An aviation expert told The Daily Mail that the tragedy was especially difficult to comprehend because the teenager had only reached his 10th flying exercise.
Stuart Abernethy, a retired company director who lives locally, said he watched the final moments of the aircraft’s flight from his driveway.
The Piper Tomahawk II crashed during the teenager’s 10th flying lesson near Loch Lomond
The 45-year-old Piper Tomahawk II departed from Glasgow Airport at 4.15pm on Friday
“I was standing in the driveway when I heard the aircraft engine revving unusually loudly,” Mr Abernethy said.
He looked up and saw the light aircraft during what appeared to be the final 10 seconds of its flight, spiralling downwards. He said he did not see the moment it hit the ground or hear an impact, only watched it disappear from view.
There was no visible smoke or crash noise, he recalled, before everything suddenly went quiet.
Mr Abernethy said the aircraft was flying low and did not appear to be in a steep dive. Instead, it seemed to “fall out of the sky” in a spiral while the engine continued to roar.
He said residents were used to hearing training flights before watching them safely return several minutes later, but on this occasion the engine noise was followed by what he described as “deathly silence”.
Tributes have since been posted online for Mr Haggis, who was affectionately known in aviation circles as the Flying Haggis.
One friend wrote that Mr Haggis had been a close friend and instructor, adding that their thoughts were with his family after the fatal air accident.
Others remembered him as a gentleman and a highly experienced aviator.
Another tribute described him as a legend and said the circumstances surrounding the crash were known only to God.
Mr Haggis was associated with Renfrew-based Leading Edge Flight Training. The company’s Facebook page includes a photograph of him instructing a student last year.
The flight school said it was devastated by the fatal accident involving one of its aircraft and two members of the Leading Edge family.
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In a statement, the company expressed its deepest sympathy to the families, friends and loved ones of both victims.
‘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.’