I can’t remember crash, pilot in airshow tragedy tells trial

A PILOT whose plane crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has told jurors he has no memory of the “dreadful tragedy”.

Andrew Hill spoke for the first time in public about the 2015 crash as he gave evidence at his trial at the Old Bailey.

The 1950s Hawker Hunter fighter jet plunged to the ground and exploded in a fireball on the A27 in West Sussex after Hill attempted a loop on August 22.

The 54-year-old, of Sandon, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, denies 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

He told the court he remembers discussing plans for his display with organisers a week before, but has no memory of events between August 19 and the moment he woke from an induced coma in hospital the following month.

He said: “I can only recall what preparation

19th.”

Asked by Karim Khalil QC, defending, if he had any memory of taking off on the day of the crash, or any part of the display, he replied: “None at all.”

Hill said: “Probably most of the last three years have been spent I did up until the trying on earth to resolve what happened.” Asked if this had been easy, he replied: “No, because it caused a dreadful tragedy to a lot of people.”

Hill told medics that he “blacked out” in the air, the court previously heard. The trial continues.