Air show crashes claim a dozen lives
Stunt goes awry in Britain; Swiss planes collide
THE DEATH toll from the crash of a vintage jet fighter onto a busy road near an airshow in southern England on Saturday is thought to have risen to 11, the BBC reported yesterday.
Initial reports said seven people were killed in the the worst air show disaster in Britain for 60 years but police quoted by the BBC said it was “highly likely” that 11 died, although formal identification could not yet be made.
During a display at the Shoreham Air Show, the Hawker Hunter jet crashed and burst into flames close to a pub and Lancing College, a boarding school housing hundreds of pupils.
The pilot, former RAF fast-jet pilot Andy Hill, 51, was a regular stunt flier on the summer air show circuit.
Thousands of spectators watched in horror at 1.20pm on Saturday as his aircraft slammed into the ground.
Police said Hill had been airlifted to Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he was in a critical condition.
All seven victims on the ground died at the scene.
Superintendent Jane Derrick of Sussex police warned that more bodies could be found overnight and throughout yesterday as searches of the road and the surrounding area continued.
It was only minutes into the afternoon’s display that the aircraft, which is believed to be based at North Weald Airfield in Essex, and owned by petrol station millionaire Graham Peacock, crashed into several vehicles while at- tempting a “loop-the-loop”.
Video footage of the aftermath posted online shows the mangled wreckage of several cars. Footage of the aircraft’s last moments reveals it performed a loop, but was unable to complete it and crashed onto the road, bursting into a huge fireball.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service said that in addition to the seven fatalities, thought to include two cyclists, 14 people had been injured.
A Downing Street spokesman said Prime Minister David Cameron’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims”.
The show was to continue yesterday but was cancelled. Police said the road was damaged and had been closed.
Craig Wood-Ellis, 31, said he saw a “huge ball of flames” as the aircraft failed to “pull out of a manoeuvre”. “There was smoke everywhere on the horizon.”
Ten fire crews and medical evacuation helicopters attended the scene, and Royal Sussex County Hospital declared an emergency. Two men were taken to hospital, one in a critical condition, thought to be the pilot, and one with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, two small planes crashed at an air show in Dittingen, Switzerland, yesterday, killing at least one person, police said.
Two of three aircraft flying in formation crashed around 9.30am.