Belgian drone pilot struck by train after crashing drone on tracks

A Belgian drone pilot was killed in Belgium last Sunday evening after being hit by a train while retrieving a crashed drone. This is reported by the Public Prosecution Service of Walloon Brabant.

The drone pilot, a woman in her early 40s had gone on the trail to secure a drone that had recently crashed. The incident occurred in the Walloon Brabant town of Tubize, where a party was taking place.

“Nothing seen or heard.”

The incident occurred during a Belgian-Italian party in the center of Tubize, a village southwest of Brussels, Belgium.

A female drone pilot recorded the party with her drone. At one point, the drone crashed into the track near the party location. The woman attempted to get the drone off the track but was hit by a train. The woman died in hospital from her injuries.

According to a spokeswoman for the Walloon Brabant Prosecution Service, the woman probably did not see or hear the train, which was traveling at a speed of 110 km/h.

“The train driver had seen the woman and activated the sound signal, but the victim did not respond.”

Past drone accidents

This is not the first time a drone pilot has been killed while recovering a crashed drone.

In April of this year, an American drone pilot suffered a fatal fall while trying to get his drone off a mountainside. In April 2020, a drone pilot was electrocuted in Germany when he tried to detach his drone from a high-voltage cable with an aluminum rod.

And in early 2016, a man drowned trying to grab a thin ice drone on a pond.

Source: HLN, cover photo: Google Streetview.

This article first appeared on Dronewatch and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.