‘Reckless’ pilot who flew Munster rugby legend to death investigated by cops

THE “reckless” paraglider pilot who flew former rugby international Greig Oliver off a mountain side to his death is being investigated by police and could face serious criminal charges.

A damning South African Air Accident Investigation report which found the then 22-year-old ­tandem pilot had shown a “total disregard” for Greig’s safety is now being acted on by cops.

And a year since the former Scotland scrum-half and Munster legend was horrifically killed in Cape Town, the slow-moving probe is at last reaching a conclusion.

Detectives are said to have ­interviewed the pilot who denies any wrongdoing.

And they have nearly finalised their report which is being sent to the National Prosecuting Authority — the South African version of the DPP — to rule on.

The rugby legend’s wife Fiona is believed to have ordered a second post-mortem on the father of two, who was killed on July 3, 2023, while on holiday in South Africa.

Greig was in Cape Town along with many other Irish rugby ­families cheering on the Ireland Under-20 team taking part in the Rugby World Cup in which his son Jack was playing.

During a rest day, a group of parents took a coach up to Signal Hill, overlooking Robben Island, to jump off attached to pilots flying tandem paragliders.

But the shocking Air Accident Investigation report revealed ­how novice Greig, 58, was put through a series of high-speed aerobatic manoeuvres that his canopy was not designed for.

A GoPro camera captured ­terrified Greig screaming out “Jesus” as the pilot quipped “It’s going to get crazy” — moments before he slammed the pair of them into another paraglider.

Their canopy collapsed and the pilot was forced to release it and pull the reserve chute.

They fell 250m into the freezing Atlantic Ocean below where they crash landed.

The AAI report, which was released in March, said the pilot managed to release himself from the harness but instead of helping Greig from his straps, swam for the rocky shore leaving his stricken passenger to his fate.

Witnesses said Greig was swamped under the weight of the collapsed chute on his head and swept into rocks as they tried without success to get him free.

By the time the lifeboat arrived it is believed Greig had drowned and his body was pulled up onto Rocklands Beach where the rugby legend was certified dead and taken to the mortuary.

Pilot’s total disregard for Greig’s safety

A source close to the case said: “The conditions for flying were perfect but, for reasons only known to the pilot, he switched from normal flight into high-speed aerobatic mode.

“He was doing ‘wing overs’ which meant the pilot and Greig were effectively swinging higher than the canopy and whilst doing so and unsighted they hit another paraglider.

“The pilot is said to have swam for the rocks leaving Greig behind. It is for a court to decide if he is to blame for his death.”

The AAI report concluded the aerobatic manoeuvres the pilot put Oliver through were “unnecessary and unsafe”.

A spokesman for South African Police told The Irish Sun: “Once all the relevant reports have been received the case docket will be presented to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for them to make a decision upon.”

Oliver was born in Scotland and was capped by his country three times.

In 2007 he moved to wife Fiona’s home town of Limerick before becoming Elite Performance Officer at Munster RFC.