# 1995 Rugby World Cup pilot malfeasance **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504 "2010-01-03T10:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/1 "2010-01-03T10:10:14Z")
In the movie _Invictus_, there’s a scene right before the beginning of the Big Game where a South African jet airline pilot buzzes the stadium, presumably in a show of national pride, and scares the hell out of Nelson Mandela’s bodyguards. Was that a real incident, or was it made up for the film? I couldn’t find anything about it after several seconds of googling. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/2 "2010-01-03T10:40:29Z")
The New Zealand Herald records the incident [here](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/springbok-rugby-team/news/article.cfm?c_id=327&objectid=10586278&pnum=1) (see item 2). Also, the [goofs](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/goofs) section for _Invictus_ on IMDB states like so: > [@](#): > > During the Rugby World Cup Final, security men are shocked to see what appears to be a low-flying jumbo jet, only to see it is harmless. In reality, all security staff were briefed about the jet maneuvers planned for the day. ---
**Author:** ![Emile\_06](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e99b99/32.png) [@Emile\_06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emile_06)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/3 "2010-01-26T10:01:26Z")
The Boeing flying over the Ellis park Stadium is 100% true. It even started a little drinking tradition that every time a boieng flies over you drink. The pilot was Laurie Kay who flew the Boeing 747-400 flypast at the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final. I litterly just watched the film & I didnt want to because I beleived it to be a fictitious storie of the truth but It’s a good movie of how things we’re little extra info when in the begining they wanted to strip the springbok emblem & the colours & call them the proteas, they are still trying A beautifull day that everybody was celebrated drinking with the cops on the roads ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/4 "2010-01-26T16:19:06Z")
Yes, it was real. But it wasn’t pilot malfeasance, it was a planned part of the spectacle. I remember seeing it on live TV. The movie played this up as a possible assassination or terrorist attack with interesting editing. I can’t speak for the security detail, but it does stretch credibility to suggest that they didn’t know about it. This was the least credible moment in what I thought otherwise was a pretty good film. For reasons that don’t need mentioning I am sure that no sane organizers would do 747 flybys these days. I guess 1995 was in that aspect a more innocent time. Or maybe South Africa has a more old school risk mentality - did they ever do things like that in the United States? I don’t recall anyone in South Africa being terribly shocked that they did this, I just remember that it looked kind of awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/5 "2010-01-26T17:15:16Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > I guess 1995 was in that aspect a more innocent time. Or, indeed, a healthier, less pathetic time 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Emile\_06](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e99b99/32.png) [@Emile\_06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emile_06)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/6 "2010-01-27T07:00:08Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > But it wasn’t pilot malfeasance, it was a planned part of the spectacle. > > The movie played this up as a possible assassination or terrorist attack with interesting editing. I can’t speak for the security detail, but it does stretch credibility to suggest that they didn’t know about it. It was planned by the Pilot & the Pilot alone the security was shocked to see the plane heading in the direction of ellis park nothing was implied that there was a assassination in plan it was pure shock nothing more you going to deep in to this. Remember there are no planes routes that goes over Ellis park or hillbrow or Braamfontein ---
**Author:** ![Zerc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/82dd89/32.png) [@Zerc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zerc)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/7 "2010-01-27T07:56:49Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > For reasons that don’t need mentioning I am sure that no sane organizers would do 747 flybys these days. I guess 1995 was in that aspect a more innocent time. Or maybe South Africa has a more old school risk mentality - did they ever do things like that in the United States? I don’t recall anyone in South Africa being terribly shocked that they did this, I just remember that it looked kind of awesome. We still do it. [This](http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l379/chrisfowler/IMG_1846.jpg) is a picture taken from my mother’s during the presidential inauguration last year. ---
**Author:** ![Ellamental](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ellamental](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellamental)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/8 "2010-10-24T23:39:37Z")
Hello 🙂 I can confirm it was for real. I was there!! what a lucky girl I was and an awesome experience, especially with Mandela there. E. > [@friedo](#): > > In the movie _Invictus_, there’s a scene right before the beginning of the Big Game where a South African jet airline pilot buzzes the stadium, presumably in a show of national pride, and scares the hell out of Nelson Mandela’s bodyguards. > > Was that a real incident, or was it made up for the film? I couldn’t find anything about it after several seconds of googling. ---
**Author:** ![Pantani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pantani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantani)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/9 "2010-10-25T05:35:25Z")
As a Kiwi I can only say “We was robbed”. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/10 "2010-10-25T08:02:50Z")
::Provides LARGE pile of salt for those watching Invictus:: This incident is just one of those changed for dramatic effect - watch this movie for the feel-good factor, not to learn that much truth about South Africa… ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1995-rugby-world-cup-pilot-malfeasance/523504/11 "2010-10-25T09:06:50Z")
> [@Pantani](#): > > As a Kiwi I can only say “We was robbed”. It was the night of my 21st birthday, to say that it ended in disappointment would be an understatement.