Alpine skier almost taken out by falling drone camera during slalom run

Four-time reigning World Cup champion alpine skier Marcel Hirscher narrowly missed being taken out by an unlike opponent: a drone camera.

The camera, part of the television broadcast of the World Cup, fell from the sky during Hirsch’s slalom run Tuesday, narrowly missing the skier.

The most incredible part of this is how unfazed Hirscher appears after the camera falls. The Austrian finished second in the event (to Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway) despite the unplanned obstacle.

After the race, he was not as calm about the incident, according to The Associated Press.

“This is horrible,” Hirscher said. “This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury.”

The falling camera was reminiscent of the 2011 Insight Bowl, when a falling skycam almost crashed into the Iowa huddle. In both cases, the athletes were lucky the camera landed where it did.

If the camera had fallen just a bit farther forward Tuesday, Hirscher was very close to losing a lot more than the race. While we certainly love the aerial views drones and skycams provide, one hopes we never have to deal with any serious injury of death because of their usage.

[h/t NBC Sports]