The Accident and Incident Investigation Division of the SA Civil Aviation Authority issued a 30-page report detailing the horrific paragliding accident that killed Scottish rugby coach Greig Oliver, has shown that the 22-year-old pilot navigating the tandem glider showed a ‘total disregard’ for his passenger’s safety.
Also read: Munster Rugby expresses shock at the loss of colleague Greig Oliver
The 58-year-old Oliver was on holiday in Cape Town supporting his son, Jack (20), who featured in the Ireland under-20 squad.
An Air Accident Investigation said the crash was ‘completely avoidable’ as it uncovered a 22-year-old pilot had put Oliver through a series of quick dynamic acrobatic turns the paragliding canopy was not designed for.
Chaos ensued after the three paragliders set off from Signal Hill in light 5km/h winds, with Oliver said to be ‘nervous and tense’ in the build-up of their takeoff.
‘It’s going to get crazy’, was heard by the 22-year-old pilot on the GoPro as they took off before taking the paraglider through numerous high-speed acrobatic ‘wing overs’ it was not certified for, in a ‘reckless’ and ‘unnecessary’ act as it was deemed in the report.
The report, as seen in the Irish Sun, states that the pilot had not been watching where he was going and consequently collided with another flier, with their canopy collapsing and tragically plummeting 250 meters down towards the Atlantic Ocean with Oliver screaming ‘Jesus.’
The report stated, ‘Paraglider 1 flight instructor displayed a total disregard for the safe operation of a paraglider and displayed poor airmanship and did not adhere to procedures.’
As they plunged, the nylon wing was ripped open and several rigging lines were cut.
The investigation found that the emergency parachute was deployed before they hit the water, with the pilot releasing his own harness and saving himself by swimming back to shore. The pilot left Oliver trapped in his harness and unable to free himself as he was overwhelmed with the weight of the chute and battling the waves.
The waves swept him to the rocks where he became wedged, resulting in the death of the 58-year-old.
The report read, ‘There was no evidence of the instructor retracting the wing or rescuing the student pilot or assisting him to unclip or release his seat safety buckle. The flight instructor unclipped himself from the seat harness and swam to the shore.
‘However, the student was caught between the rocks and could not free himself. Additionally, he was not in possession of a hook knife that would have enabled him to cut himself free from the suspension lines and wing fabric and he remained trapped.’
Oliver was brought to shore by a National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) lifeboat where medics performed CPR on the Scottish coach but was sadly declared dead on the scene.
A post-mortem or toxicology report was not provided by South African authorities eight months after the incident occurred, and subsequently, the cause of his death is unknown.
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