Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher narrowly avoided being struck by a drone Tuesday after it fell out of the sky during a slalom run.
Marcel Hirscher: Austrian skiier narrowly avoids being hit by falling drone
Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
The drone fitted with a camera -- shown here prior to its crash -- landed just inches behind him at the top of the slope.
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Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
Despite the incident, Hirscher finished in second place, 1.25 seconds behind Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway in first and ahead of compatriot Marco Schwarz who finished third.
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Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
"This is horrible," Hirscher said after the event. "This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury." However, he saw a lighter side of the incident later, posting that there was "heavy air traffic in Italy" on his Instagram account.
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Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
The International Ski Federation (FIS) released a statement on its website, in which they called the drone crash "an unfortunate accident."
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Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
"While FIS and its partners aim to use new technology to enhance the fan experience, an accident such as the drone crash cannot happen again," the statement read.
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Photos: Skier evades a falling drone after it lands inches behind him during a slalom run
The 26-year-old won a silver medal in the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and is the four-time defending World Cup Overall champion.
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