![]() As it neared the airport, it pulled up into an inside loop. The Hunter commenced its display with a low pass along the runway from south to north, turning for a second pass in the opposite direction. ![]() The aircraft hit the A27 dual-carriageway between the River Adur, in the foreground, and the runway. ![]() Accident Īerial view looking south-west towards Shoreham airport. The Hunter had been opening the afternoon session of displays the morning programme up to 12:30 BST (11:30 UTC) had already featured The Blades aerobatic team (opening), Justyn Gorman Aerobatics, an AutoGyro Calidus, the Tiger 9 Aeronautical Display Team (six aircraft only), a Pitts Special, The Twister aerobatic team (one aircraft only), an RAF Tutor, and the RAF Falcons parachute display team. The conditions were hot and sunny, with a crosswind up to 15 knots, described as not unusual for Shoreham by the local media. The aircraft was taking part in the first day of the two-day Shoreham Airshow, held in aid of the Royal Air Forces Association. As well as the Hawker Hunter, he flew a Van's RV-8 and a BAC Jet Provost at airshows. He had flown Hawker Siddeley Harriers and worked as an instructor for the RAF before joining the airline. He had worked as a captain at British Airways. Īndy Hill, the 51-year-old pilot, was described by colleagues as experienced, with more than 12,000 flight hours. The aircraft had flown to Shoreham from North Weald and was scheduled to return there after the display. At the time of the accident, it was owned by Graham Peacock, and based at North Weald Airfield, Essex. It had been making civilian display flights as a warbird since 1998, under a variety of owners. ![]() Having first flown for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in July 1955, it was rebuilt following a fire, returning to service in 1959 after conversion to T7 specification. The aircraft was a 1950s two-seat Hawker Hunter T7, registration G-BXFI serial 41H-670815, displaying its former military serial number WV372 as part of its livery. Aircraft and crew Ĭlass=notpageimage| The crash site in West Sussex, UK Īfter the crash, regulations for airshows were significantly tightened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), increasing costs to organisers to fund the new safety measures to a degree that led to the cancellation of later shows. In December 2022, the coroner found that the victims were unlawfully killed as their deaths were caused by an incorrect manoeuvre and a series of gross errors. Īn inquest into the deaths of the victims was scheduled to be held in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 30 November 2022, pending the outcome of some procedural issues. The organisers of the Shoreham Airshow denied any responsibility for the crash. He was found not guilty on all counts on 8 March 2019. In 2018, Hill was charged with eleven counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of endangering an aircraft. The official investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the crash resulted from pilot error. As a result of the accident, all civilian-registered Hawker Hunter aircraft in the United Kingdom were grounded, and restrictions were put in place on civilian vintage jet aircraft displays over land, limiting them to high-level flypasts and banning aerobatic manoeuvres. The pilot, Andy Hill, was critically injured but survived. The aircraft, a Hawker Hunter T7, failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed, hitting vehicles on the A27 road adjacent to the airport. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which had killed 31 people. On 22 August 2015, a former military aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. North Weald Airfield, Essex, United Kingdom
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