Defending World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher had a lucky escape Tuesday after he narrowly avoided being hit by a falling drone.

The 26-year-old -- who won silver in the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics -- was on his second run in a World Cup slalom race at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy when a remote-controlled drone with a mounted camera slammed down on the piste inches behind him.

"This is horrible," Hirscher said after the event. "This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury."

He did, however, see a funnier side to the incident later that day, posting that there was "heavy air traffic in Italy" on his Instagram account.