2015 Shoreham Airshow crash

2015 Shoreham Airshow crash

The accident aircraft (G-BXFI) in 2013
Accident summary
Date	22 August 2015 (2015-08-22)
Summary	Under investigation
Site	A27 road, Shoreham Airport boundary, West Sussex, UK TQ 201 061
Crew	1
Injuries (non-fatal)	1 critical (pilot)  3 serious (on ground) 12 other (on ground)
Fatalities	11, all on ground
Survivors	1
Aircraft type	Hawker Hunter T7
Operator	Canfield Hunter Limited
Registration	G-BXFI
Flight origin	North Weald Airfield, Essex, United Kingdom
Destination	North Weald Airfield

Crash site

Crash site shown within West Sussex, United Kingdom

On 22 August 2015, a vintage jet aircraft crashed during a 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 air show crash, which killed 31 people.

The aircraft, a Hawker Hunter T7, failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed onto vehicles on the A27 trunk road. The pilot, Andy Hill, survived the crash, and was placed in a medically-induced coma. 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 flypasts and banning high energy aerobatic manoeuvres.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft performing at Shoreham in 2014

The aircraft was a vintage two-seat Hawker Hunter T7, registration G-BXFI, serial 41H-670815, displaying its former military serial number WV372 as part of its livery. Having first flown for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in July 1955, it was rebuilt following a fire, returning to service in 1959 after conversion to T7 specification. It had been making civilian display flights as a warbird since 1998, under a variety of owners. At the time of the accident, it was owned by Graham Peacock, and based at North Weald Airfield, Essex. The aircraft had flown to Shoreham from North Weald and was scheduled to return there after the display.

Andy Hill, the 51-year-old pilot, was described by colleagues as experienced, with more than 12,000 flight hours. He had worked as a captain at British Airways. He had flown Harrier Jump Jets and worked as an instructor for the RAF before joining the airline. As well the Hawker Hunter, he flew a Van's Aircraft RV-8 and a BAC Jet Provost at airshows.

Airshow

The aircraft was taking part in the first day of the two-day Shoreham Airshow, held in aid of the Royal Air Forces Association. The conditions were hot and sunny, but with a crosswind up to 15 knots, described as not unusual for Shoreham by the local media. The Hunter had been opening the afternoon session of displays; the morning programme up to 12:30 BST (11:30 UTC) had already featured The Blades aerobatic team (opening), Justyn Gorman Aerobatics, an AutoGyro Calidus, the Tiger 9 Aeronautical Display Team (six aircraft only), a Pitts Special, The Twister aerobatic team (one aircraft only), an RAF Tutor, and the RAF Falcons parachute display team.

Accident

Aerial view looking south-west towards Shoreham airport. The aircraft hit the A27 dual-carriageway between the River Adur, in the foreground, and the runway, while flying approximately in the direction this photo was taken.

Crash

The Hunter commenced its display with a low pass along the runway from south to north, turning for a second pass in the opposite direction. As it neared the airport, it pulled up into an inside loop. This manoeuvre started from a height of 200 feet (61 m), which David Learmount later said "left no room for misjudgement". Before it could complete the loop, the aircraft crashed in a nose-high attitude onto the west-bound carriageway of the A27 road The aircraft broke into four parts on impact: cockpit, tail, left wing and main body, and right wing, destroying several cars in the process. Fuel escaping from the fuel tanks ignited in a large fireball and plume of smoke immediately following the impact. The crash occurred at 13:22 BST (12:22 UTC).

Casualties

Eleven people on the ground were killed, and 16 others were injured. Those confirmed dead included two players from Worthing United F.C., a level 9 team in English football. Eight vehicles were destroyed in the crash, including a Daimler DS420 limousine which was en route to collect a bride to transport her to church for her wedding. The driver of the Daimler was subsequently confirmed as one of the victims.

Hill, the pilot, was thrown clear of the aircraft in his ejection seat, which was live when the aircraft departed from North Weald. He survived the crash with serious injuries. He was flown to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in nearby Brighton; his condition was described as critical and he was said to be fighting for his life. He was subsequently placed in a medically-induced coma. He was released from hospital in September 2015.

It was feared that more bodies might be recovered from the scene, but when the wreckage of the aircraft was removed on 24 August these fears proved to be unfounded. All the recovered components of the aircraft were taken to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) facility at Farnborough, Hampshire, for examination.

Response

A de Havilland Sea Vixen was already airborne ready to perform the next display after the Hunter; instead it simply flew overhead at altitude and departed to the North. With an Avro Vulcan due half an hour later at 14:05, it was decided to let it perform a tribute flypast, after which the show was closed. All the aircraft at the airport were already grounded by the lack of fire cover and the creation of an exclusion zone around the accident site.

Following the crash, the A27 was closed in both directions, stranding those attending the airshow. People were initially able to leave the site only on foot, as the main access from the car parks to the A27 was closed. A West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service appliance was first on scene, closely followed by the airport emergency vehicles. It was announced the same day that the second day of the air show on 23 August was cancelled. The A27 reopened on 30 August 2015.

Adur and Worthing Councils (Shoreham Airport is within Adur District) set up online and physical books of condolence. Together with West Sussex County Council they also opened a charitable fund to support victims of the accident, to be administered by the Sussex Community Foundation, a registered charity.

Aftermath

Floral tributes to those who died, on Shoreham Tollbridge near the site of the crash.

After a review, Tendring District Council stated that the airshow scheduled to be held at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on 27–28 August would go ahead. Any advice issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) following the accident would be acted upon. The Clacton airshow takes place over the sea, similar to the Bournemouth Airshow which took place the same weekend as the accident and ran for both days.

On 24 August 2015, the CAA announced that certain restrictions on "vintage jet aircraft" performing over land at airshows were to be introduced until further notice, reducing displays to flypasts only. In addition all Hawker Hunters on the United Kingdom civil aircraft register were grounded until further notice, although military-registered Hunters were not affected. The restrictions are scheduled to remain in place until the investigation into the accident is completed. The CAA is to undertake a wider review of safety at airshows. In January 2016, the CAA announced that it was bringing in stricter requirements for airshows in the United Kingdom. Measures put in place in the immediate aftermath of the accident would remain until the AAIB publishes its Final Report, at which point a review would be made, based on the recommendations in the Final Report.

On 27 August, it was announced that the airshow scheduled to be held at Durham Tees Valley Airport on 29 August had been postponed. Organisers of the airshow stated that the new regulations in place would have "severely limited" some of the displays of the jet aircraft. The airshow would have been the first in the area since 1989.

Other air shows at the following weekend were not postponed but some displays were altered to match the Civil Aviation Authority restrictions, including the Wings and Wheels display at Dunsfold Aerodrome where a one-minute silent tribute to the victims was held before the start of the air display.

In January 2016, Shoreham Airshow Ltd announced that the 2016 show had been cancelled. The organisers added that the possibility of a 2017 airshow would be explored when and if it was appropriate to do so. In February 2016, it was announced that the 2016 Llandudno Airshow had been cancelled. This was due to a lack of time to make changes in light of new regulations introduced by the CAA. The organisers intend that the 2017 airshow will go ahead.

Inquest

A coroner's inquest was opened on 2 September in Horsham, West Sussex. After the naming of all the victims and a minute's silence, the inquest was adjourned until 22 March 2016. On 22 March, a date was set for a pre-inquest review on 19 September. It was revealed that the police had applied to the High Court for permission to obtain evidence relevant to the investigation from the AAIB. A full hearing is proposed to take place in March 2017. However, any prosecution of the pilot could mean that the inquest would be further delayed, depending on the severity of offence being prosecuted.

Investigations

AAIB

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), responsible for investigating civil aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, sent a team to Shoreham. As a part of the investigation, the AAIB appealed for members of the public to contact them if they had photographs or video of the accident, and received a large number of such recordings from a variety of locations around the airport. The aircraft was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. The AAIB published an interim report on 4 September. The report stated that "To date, no abnormal indications have been identified. Throughout the flight, the aircraft appeared to be responding to the pilot’s control inputs".

A second special bulletin was published by the AAIB on 21 December 2015. It revealed that the aircraft was not compliant with its Permit to Fly insofar as the ejection seat cartridges installed in the aircraft had passed their expiry date. The maintenance organisation had ordered new cartridges in January 2014, but the new cartridges did not arrive until June 2015, a year and a half after ordering them, and two months before the accident. The maintainer of the aircraft stated it was acting under the privileges of its maintenance approvals. The Civil Aviation Authority was reported to be of the view that the maintainer did not have such privilege.

An issue with compliance with a Mandatory Permit Directive (MPD) in relation to time between engine overhauls raised questions whether the aircraft's Permit to Fly was valid on the day that it was issued. The CAA stated that it was unclear whether an Alternative Means of Compliance (AMOC) was in effect at the time for the accident aircraft, which would mean the Permit to Fly was valid. According to the AAIB's second interim report, "On this basis [the CAA] could not determine if the aircraft met the requirements of its Permit to Fly from December 2014 onwards." The second special bulletin made seven safety recommendations.

A third update was published on 10 March 2016. The Special Bulletin covered the organisation of the airshow at Shoreham, and also the United Kingdom in general, with particular attention to risk management. Comparison was made with how airshows are organised in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and United States. British civil and military rules were examined separately. It was reported that at the 2014 Shoreham Airshow, G-BFXI had overflown Lancing with a bank angle in excess of 90°. The pilot had not been instructed to stop his display. The AAIB did not name the pilot of G-BFXI who flew the 2014 display. It was also reported that the Flying Display Director at both displays did not have prior knowledge of the display intended to be flown. The issue of low flying during air displays was investigated. A previous accident involving glider BGA 4665 at an air race in Leicestershire in August 2005 had resulted in a recommendation to the CAA to change a rule. This had not been done and new rules subsequently introduced had the effect of leaving that rule unchanged, despite the CAA agreeing with the recommendation to change it. It was noted that the police had no powers to prevent people from watching an airshow from outside the boundaries of the venue where it was taking place. In the case of Shoreham, neither Sussex Constablulary nor the organisers had asked for such powers. Signs had been put out stating that viewing was prohibited and that offenders may be prosecuted. Another issue looked at was how often CAA Flight Standards Officers attended airshows. Only 1.4% of airshows in 2014 and 7.1% of airshows in 2015 had been attended. Fourteen recommendations were made.

Sussex police

Sussex Constabulary opened a separate investigation into the accident. The pilot was released from hospital in early September 2015. He was interviewed by police in December. In February 2016, it was announced that the police investigation was being extended to cover an incident at an airshow in Southport, Merseyside, which occurred in August 2014. That incident involved a BAC Jet Provost aircraft which had descended too low and got too close to the crowd line whilst being displayed by Hill. He was ordered to cease flying the display by the airshow's Flying Display Director. A CAA Flight Standards Officer did not attend that airshow.

See also

• List of air show accidents and incidents