'Potential crime' probe into death of Scots wingsuit flyer dropped

An investigation into any potential crime after the death of a Scottish wingsuit flyer during a jump in the Swiss Alps has been dropped.

British champion Liam Byrne, 24, was fatally injured on the Gitschen mountain after taking off from 7,874ft (2,400m) in June last year.

An investigation was launched, but documents from the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office seen by BBC Scotland News show it was decided to discontinue proceedings.

Byrne, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, had featured in a 2024 BBC documentary called The Boy Who Can Fly.

He was described as a very experienced wingsuit flyer - which is a type of skydiving. It involves wearing a special suit with webbing to allow mid-air lift.

Byrne had completed thousands of jumps during his flying career.

He had told the BBC documentary: "I think I was about 13 when I said to my dad that I wanted to learn to fly like a bird."

He took to extreme sports from a young age.

At 12 he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak standing at 19,341ft (5,895 metres) high.

That adventure led to dog-sledging through the Arctic, scuba diving, and multiple high summit climbs.

By the age of 14 he was a licensed paraglider.

He did his first skydive aged 16, and by 18 was pulling on a wingsuit, which he described as a "second skin, letting me move through the air in a controlled way".

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office report on the decision to discontinue the investigation said the first two wingsuit jumpers in the party landed without incident.

However, it said Byrne collided with the mountainside and suffered fatal injuries.

The report said proceedings would be discontinued if there was insufficient evidence of any criminal suspicion, such as knowingly placing life in danger.

"The fatal crash was, with a high degree of probability, attributable to a situation from which there was no escape, resulting from insufficient lift and the low altitude above the ground," it said.

"There are no indications in the present case of any criminal acts by third parties that contributed to the crash, or of a pre-existing technical defect in the equipment used that contributed to the crash.

"The proceedings are therefore discontinued."

A family statement at the time of his death said: "We would like to remember Liam not just for the way he left this world, but for how he lived in it.

"Liam was fearless, not necessarily because he wasn't afraid but because he refused to let fear hold him back.

"He chased life in a way that most of us only dream of and he soared.

"Skydiving and base jumping was more than just a thrill for Liam - it was freedom.

"It was where he felt most alive."