Shoreham Airshow disaster saw 11 men 'unlawfully killed' following a 'series of gross errors' coroner rules

20 December 2022, 16:06 | Updated: 20 December 2022, 16:22

A “series of gross errors” led to the unlawful deaths of 11 people as part of the Shoreham Airshow disaster, a coroner has concluded.

The incident, which took place on 22 August 2015, saw the Hawker Hunter T7 aircraft crash onto a busy dual carriageway in West Sussex whilst attempting an “incorrectly flown looping manouvre” during the airshow.

Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield said: "The aircraft responded to the pilot's control inputs.

"The crash occurred because the aircraft's speed on entry into the manoeuvre was too slow and the thrust applied by the pilot in the upward half of the manoeuvre was insufficient.

The pilot, Andrew Hill, who maintains he has no recollection of the crash which saw his plane crash onto the A27, was among 13 injured during the airshow incident which also took the lives of two cyclists.

Hill, who gave evidence to the inquest but was not called as a witness, was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence but found not guilty on all counts in March 2019.

Schofield said that “lives that were cut way too short” as a result of the crash, adding: "this huge loss will be worn by the families for the rest of their lives.

"It has been a long journey, some seven years for you, to get the answers you wanted.

She added: “you now have a voice."

Schofield also concluded that it was possible two cyclists who died during the disaster would not have been killed had road signs for pedestrians in the area been clearer.

The coroner finished her findings by reading aloud the names of the 11 men who died in the incident.

Schofield continued: "The pilot either did not perceive that an escape manoeuvre was necessary or did not realise that one was possible at the speed achieved at the apex of the manoeuvre.”

Noting there was no evidence of any “G-related impairment” during the routine aerobatic sequence, she added: "The G-force experienced by the pilot during the manoeuvre was probably not a factor in the crash."

Sarah Stewart, of Stewarts law firm, which represents a number of the Shoreham Airshow victims' families, said: "The bereaved families have waited more than seven years to reach this point and although the senior coroner's conclusion will not ease the pain of their loss, their voices have been heard."

She added: "The bereaved families have waited more than seven years to reach this point and although the senior coroner's conclusion will not ease the pain of their loss, their voices have been heard."