Families’ fury as pilot errors blamed for air show disaster
RELATIVES of victims of the Shoreham air disaster vowed to fight for justice yesterday as an official report blamed pilot errors for the tragedy.
Families called for a criminal prosecution after it was revealed pilot Andy Hill was performing a loop-theloop manoeuvre for which he had not been trained.
Mr Hill, 52, survived the crash which killed 11 people after his vintage Hawker Hunter jet smashed on to the busy A27 near the Sussex airfield and exploded into flames in August 2015.
Yesterday the final report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said Mr Hill was flying too low and too slowly to complete the stunt.
The former RAF pilot could have pulled out up to four seconds after reaching the top of the loop. But Mr Hill, of Sandon, Hertfordshire, either did not believe it was necessary or did not realise it was possible.
Ridiculous
He had not received formal training to escape the manoeuvre and had not had his competence to do so assessed, the report found.
It also concluded that “ineffective” measures to protect the public contributed to the death toll.
Last night the parents of victim Matthew Grimstone, 23, said the Civil Aviation Authority and the air show organisers had “much to answer for”.
In a statement the couple, Phil and Sue Grimstone, said: “Rules laid down by the CAA were clearly inadequate and in some cases not fully adhered to by air show organisers.”
Oliver Morriss, whose uncle Mark Reeves, 53, died in the tragedy, said: “We would like to see justice served and if that means a criminal trial than so be it.” Nino Vydeenaden, 22, a friend of victim Matt Jones, 24, said: “This is going to anger a lot of people.
“If the pilot had not had formal training to stop what he was doing, then he shouldn’t have done it.
“I think it’s ridiculous. Now the families are going to be thinking that it could have been prevented. People are going to be furious.”
Rebecca Smith, an aviation lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing some of the victims, said: “Tragically, it appears that this was a disaster waiting to happen and one that could have been avoided.”
Mr Hill has been the subject of a manslaughter investigation by Sussex Police and interviewed under caution. A spokesman said they were now preparing to submit a file to prosecutors.