_(12863569924).jpg) The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2013 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 August 2015 |
| Summary | Pilot error during aerobatic manoeuvre |
| Site | A27 road, Shoreham Airport boundary, West Sussex, UK 50°50′30″N 0°17′43″W / 50.8417°N 0.2952°W |
| Total fatalities | 11 |
| Total injuries | 16 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Hawker Hunter T7 |
| Operator | Canfield Hunter Limited |
| Registration | G-BXFI |
| Flight origin | North Weald Airfield, Essex, United Kingdom |
| Destination | North Weald Airfield |
| Occupants | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 11 |
| Ground injuries | 15 |
On 22 August 2015, a former military aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which had killed 31 people.[1]
The aircraft, a Hawker Hunter T7, failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed, hitting vehicles on the A27 road adjacent to the airport. The pilot, Andy Hill, was critically injured but survived.[2][3] As a result of the accident, all civilian-registered Hawker Hunter aircraft in the United Kingdom were grounded, and restrictions were put in place on civilian vintage jet aircraft displays over land, limiting them to high-level flypasts and banning aerobatic manoeuvres.
The official investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the crash resulted from pilot error. In 2018, Hill was charged with eleven counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of endangering an aircraft. He was found not guilty on all counts on 8 March 2019. The organisers of the Shoreham Airshow denied any responsibility for the crash.[4]
An inquest into the deaths of the victims was scheduled to be held in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 30 November 2022, pending the outcome of some procedural issues. In December 2022, the coroner found that the victims were unlawfully killed as their deaths were caused by an incorrect manoeuvre and a series of gross errors.[5]
After the crash, regulations for airshows were significantly tightened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), increasing costs to organisers to fund the new safety measures to a degree that led to the cancellation of later shows.[6]
- ^ "Shoreham Airshow crash: Pilot in critical condition". TV News Room. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Shoreham Air Show crash: 'Highly likely' 11 people dead". BBC News. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Up To 20 People Killed in Air Show Disaster". Sky News Room. Sky News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Shoreham Airshow crash pilot acquitted over deaths", BBC News, 8 March 2019, archived from the original on 5 November 2019, retrieved 3 August 2019
- ^ "Shoreham Airshow inquest". West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "What Happened In The World Of Aviation After The Shoreham Airshow Crash?". Forces Network. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2022.