CRASH HELL PILOT: I AM NO DANGER
Flier denies ‘cavalier’ claim
THE Shoreham Airshow crash pilot yesterday denied he ever had a “cavalier attitude” to flying.
Andrew Hill’s 1950s Hawker Hunter fighter jet killed 11 men when it crashed and exploded in a fireball on the A27 in 2015.
Hill dismissed prosecution claims that the crash was caused by “pilot error” and his “cavalier attitude”.
The 54-year-old told the Old Bailey: “I would say I was probably one of the least people that applied to, in the sense that there are ways to be cavalier and some people are, some people are not.
Risk
“I believe I took a very structured, disciplined approach to it (display flying).”
Hill, of Sandon, Herts, denies 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Karim Khalil QC, defending, asked if he intended to cause risk to anybody.
Hill replied: “Absolutely not, for a multitude of reasons. It was the primary aim of the display to avoid risk.”
The jury previously heard of three incidents in 2014, a year before the crash, when there were concerns over Hill’s flying.
This included one of his displays which was halted with a stop call because he had performed a “dangerous manoeuvre”.
But some witnesses since described him as “safety conscious” and an “absolute gentleman”. The trial continues.