Pilot blamed for deadly air crash
Fighter jet came down on road after failed stunt
SUSSEX: Pilot error was the sole cause of a crash that killed 11 men when a vintage fighter jet came down on a road and burst into a fireball during a failed stunt at an aerobatics show, a court heard.
Andrew Hill was flying the Hawker Hunter too low when he lost control over the A27 in West Sussex, jurors were told.
PILOT ERROR was the sole cause of a crash that killed 11 men when a vintage fighter jet came down on a road and burst into a fireball during a failed stunt at an aerobatics show, a court heard.
Andrew Hill was flying the Hawker Hunter too low when he lost control over the A27 in West Sussex, jurors were told.
The 1950s aircraft plummeted onto the dual carriageway while it was performing a loop stunt during the Shoreham airshow in August 2015.
Hill, a trained RAF instructor who was a British Airways captain at the time, was thrown clear but taken to hospital and placed into an induced coma.
Although an experienced pilot, he had been known to take “risks” and one of his airshow displays the year before was brought to a halt because of his “dangerous” flying, the court heard.
The 54-year-old, of Buntingford, Hertfordshire, denies 11 charges of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Members of the victims’ families gathered at the Old Bailey as prosecutor Tom Kark QC opened the case.
Describing it as a “beautiful sunny Saturday”, Mr Kark told the jury that Hill was part way through his display when the aircraft crashed, causing it to disintegrate and set off a fireball.
“The effects of that crash were devastating and 11 lost their lives as a result,” he said.
“Mr Hill miraculously escaped, because his cockpit separated from the rest of the aircraft ending in a ditch, his seat was thrown out of the cockpit and he was left lying on the ground.
“He was saved by the bravery of firefighters, paramedics and a doctor who managed to get to
The effects of that crash were devastating and 11 lost their lives. Prosecutor Tom Kark QC, opening the case against pilot Andrew Hill.
him despite the fires still burning all around.”
Mr Kark said the plane was in “excellent working condition”, adding: “Until the moment that it crashed, there was nothing wrong with the flying capabilities of that aircraft.
“The crash happened purely because of pilot error. The pilot was attempting a manoeuvre called a bent loop which requires the aircraft to reach a specific height before it begins its downward trajectory.
“Mr Hill did not reach the height required, but nevertheless continued the manoeuvre.
“In short, he did not have the height to pull the aircraft out of its dive, back to the level flight at a safe height and, as a result he crashed into the ground.”
Hill, who sat in the dock wearing a black suit, blue and white striped shirt, blue tie and glasses, will be described as a “highly competent and experienced pilot”, jurors were told.
He served in the RAF between 1985 and 1994, and completed more than 1,600 hours in aircraft including a Jet Provost and a Harrier. He was also a British Airways airbus captain.
He had flown the Hawker Hunter – a large fighter jet built for warfare which first took to the skies in 1955 – a total of 47 hours including at the same airshow the year before.
But when the crash took place Hill “fell far below his usual standards”, Mr Kark said.
Although described as “care-
ful and competent”, Mr Kark said there were times when he had “taken risks”.
A year before the crash, at Southport airshow in Merseyside, Mr Kark said Hill “performed a dangerous manoeuvre” causing organisers to halt the display by issuing what is known as a “stop, stop, stop” call.
“Such a call is a rare event and was issued on that occasion because the manoeuvre he performed took him far too close to the crowd and was dangerous.
“Unfortunately, on this occasion in 2015 at Shoreham no one had time to call out a ‘stop’ and his display ended in tragedy.”
The trial continues.