'Near disaster': Low-flying drone strikes van on Queensferry Crossing

A drone flying low across the Queensferry Crossing narrowly missed causing a “disaster” after striking a van travelling on the bridge.

The aircraft reportedly flew southwards down the centre of the crossing less than 3m above the road surface.

A van driver told STV News he was travelling at around 60mph in the outside lane heading north when he spotted the drone.

“It happened in the middle of the bridge… [I] just heard the noise when its propellers touched the side of my van,” Tomas Balcar said.

“Imagine I was doing 60mph in the outside lane and the drone was doing also some speed towards me.

“It was basically flew inches from disaster as there was heavy traffic at that time.”

Drones should not be flown closer than 50m to people, buildings, or vehicles, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The aircraft was picked up by Trunk Road Incident Support Service shortly after 1pm.

BEAR Scotland, the road management firm responsible for the bridge, said no permission had been granted by it or Transport Scotland to film near the crossing.

A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland, said: “We received reports at 1230 hours that a drone was being flown in the vicinity of the Queensferry Crossing.

“The drone was removed from the area just after 1300 hours. No permission had been sought from Transport Scotland or BEAR Scotland to film near the Queensferry Crossing.

“In fact, no permission would ever be given to fly a drone this close to moving traffic and all information regarding this incident has been passed over to Police Scotland.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received report of a drone having struck a van on the Queensferry Crossing around 12.10pm on Monday, November 15, 2021.

“Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”