Outrage as Shoreham Airshow disaster pilot claims decision to suspend his licence after crash fireball killed 11 men was made to avoid bad publicity
The pilot involved in the Shoreham Airshow disaster which killed 11 men has claimed that suspending his licence after the fireball crash was done to avoid bad publicity.
Lawyers for former RAF[2] and BA pilot Andrew Hill today suggested the Civil Aviation Authority took the decision to stop him flying based on public reaction to the 2015 tragedy, an appeal panel heard today.
His attempt to win back his pilot’s licence has prompted outrage from victims’ families, who say he does not deserve to fly again.
Mr Hill, a former British Airways[3] captain, nearly died at the side of the road after the 1950s Hawker Hunter he was flying crashed into a fireball on to the A27 in West Sussex in August 2015.
A panel at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London[4] today began hearing his legal team argue his licence, which is currently suspended, should be reinstated.
Andrew Hill, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in April 2018, is appealing to have his pilot’s licence reinstated after it was suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority
Eleven men were killed in August 2015 when Andrew Hill’s Hawker Hunter plane crashed while performing at the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex
Mr Hill, a former British Airways captain, nearly died at the side of the road after the Hawker Hunter he was flying crashed into a fireball onto the A27 in West Sussex
The former pilot suffered serious injuries in the crash, including several broken bones and a collapsed lung, and was placed into an induced coma.
Stephen Spence, representing the pilot, today asked a CAA official who made the decision to suspend Mr Hill’s licence, ‘Had there been no fatalities, would the decision be the same?’
David McCorquodale, from the CAA, said: ‘Had there been no fatalities, the decision would have been the same.’
Mr Spence asked: ‘Adverse publicity was not a factor?’
Mr McCorquodale said his independent and objective decision was not made to avoid bad publicity, adding: ‘My decision was based on the facts presented to me and evidence I had sight of. Fatalities did not inform that decision.’
The appeal panel heard the CAA no longer believed Mr Hill to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence to fly and his licences should be revoked.
The former BA pilot had flown 14,000 hours in commercial and military jets, the panel was told.
Experts from the CAA said evidence gathered for their investigation showed Mr Hill had been grossly negligent and incompetent when his vintage jet crash landed in a fireball on a busy road near Shoreham airport.
Relatives of the 11 men have told of feeling furious about the prospect Hill (pictured in 2019) could fly again
Emergency services are pictured on the scene of the tragedy which happened in August 2015 when a vintage fighter jet crashed on to the A27 in West Sussex
Mr Hill is trying to have the suspension lifted on his private and commercial pilot licences.
But Mr McCorquodale said the CAA recommended Mr Hill’s licences be revoked after reviewing evidence from Shoreham.
He described Mr Hill’s attitude as cavalier and condemned the standard of his flying on the day of the disaster.
Mr McCorquodale told the panel: ‘The performance was so far short of competent for any display pilot, it made me consider there was something more profound going on.
‘However, the evidence showed that was not the case. How was it a pilot could perform in this manner, missing every opportunity to perform an escape manoeuvre and not do so. It was grossly incompetent and negligent.
‘It appears the training undertaken, lack of preparation, and technical knowledge of aircraft was so appallingly bad, I came to the conclusion it was incompetence, ignorance.
‘I was no longer satisfied he was a fit and proper person to hold those licences.’
He said constant challenges and threats from Mr Hill showed his disregard for public safety and destroyed any CAA confidence he would continue to obey the rules.
Mr McCorquodale added: ‘The pilot challenged the coroner ruling and provisional suspension of licence and threatened the CAA with legal review.’
The victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster were (top row left to right) Matthew Grimstone, Matt Jones, Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell and Mark Trussler, and (bottom row left to right) Dylan Archer, Richard Smith, Graham Mallinson, Maurice Abrahams and Daniele Polito
The flying performance of Andrew Hill (pictured in January 2019) on the day of the Shoreham Airshow disaster has been described as investigators as ‘cavalier’
Grave and numerous errors showed a disregard for public safety, he said.
Pilots are required to show physical and mental competence as well as flying skill, the panel heard.
This meant showing good judgement and airmanship and recognition and management of threat and errors.
David White, counsel for the CAA, said constant challenges from Mr Hill following the airshow disaster showed a lack of insight.
He told the panel: ‘Mr Hill says the sheer number of errors show external factors were acting on him. We say this is perverse.
‘The evidence shows he was not cognitively impaired, he was flying the plane very badly by his own negligence.
‘His actions and inactions had a significant impact on public safety. We say this shows his lack of insight.’
ANd Mr McCorquodale accused Mr Hill of showing ‘no remorse, admission of guilt or recognition of the events of that particular day’.
A stretch of the A27 became a fireball after the plane slammed down minutes into the show
Hill is a Cambridge graduate who was top of the class in the RAF, winning competitions for his flying and being given the military nickname ‘The Prof. Pictured: Hill during a practice session a year before the Shoreham crash
David McCorquodale today said of Andrew Hill’s flying on the day of the 2015 disaster (pictured): ‘The performance was so far short of competent for any display pilot’
He added: ‘I expect a pilot to have a degree of empathy and make corrections accordingly. I see no evidence of that.’
Julie Smith who lost her son Richard Jonathan Smith, 26, in the disaster, said: ‘The CAA have to have the confidence of the public.
‘But, there is enough evidence out there without thinking about bad publicity.
‘The main thing for Mr Hill is he has never accepted any responsibility or shown any remorse to distance himself from what he has actually done.’
Ahead of the hearing, relatives of the 11 men told of their anger at the prospect Mr Hill could fly again.
Caroline Schilt, whose 23-year-old son Jacob was killed on his way to football, said: ‘We are furious that he even wants his licence back and considering his defence at the trial it is sheer arrogance that he thinks he deserves it.’
Speaking to the BBC, Anthony Mallison, whose father Graham was also killed in the crash, said he was working with other families to prevent future deaths.
He said: ‘We never want to see anything like this happen to any other family.’
Floral tributes were laid near the scene of the Shoreham Airshow disaster in the following days
Andrew Hill’s fighter jet is seen metres from the ground seconds before impact in August 2015
The 1950s fighter jet plummeted onto a West Sussex dual carriageway while it was performing a loop stunt at 1.22pm on August 22 2015
Mr Hill was found not guilty of the manslaughter by gross negligence of the 11 victims in 2019. But three years later, a coroner found all 11 men were unlawfully killed following a series of gross errors by the pilot.
The flying had been exceptionally bad, the coroner said.
Investigations by air experts did not support Mr Hill’s claims the crash was caused by a cognitive impairment.
Mr Hill is a Cambridge graduate who was top of the class in the RAF, winning competitions for his flying and being given the military nickname ‘The Prof[5]‘.
Who were the 11 victims of the 2015 Shoreham air disaster?[6]
Maurice Abrahams
Maurice Abrahams, 76:
Chauffeur Mr Abrahams, from Brighton, was en route in his classic Daimler to collect bride Rebecca Sheen and take her to her wedding when the plane crashed.
A former police officer with Hampshire Constabulary, he was an ex-member of the Grenadier Guards and Parachute Regiment, and had served in Cyprus and Bahrain with the UN.
In his later years, he enjoyed working for East Sussex-based Chariots Chauffeurs as well as gardening.
His funeral was held at St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean, where he had driven brides to their weddings countless times.
Married to Edwina, Mr Abrahams had a son, Eddie, and daughter Lizzie.
Graham Mallinson
James Graham Mallinson, known as Graham, 72:
Retired engineer Mr Mallinson, from Newick, near Lewes, had gone to Shoreham to photograph one of the last Vulcan bomber flights.
Relatives said he was kind and generous with a ‘great sense of humour’.
He was a private and loving family man, they added.
A lifetime member of the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex, married father Mr Mallinson had recently developed an interest in photographing vintage aircraft.
Father-of-six Mark Trussler
Mark Trussler, 54:
Father-of-six Mr Trussler, a window cleaner from Worthing, had taken his motorbike for a spin on the day of the tragedy as he had also wanted to see the Vulcan flight.
While in Shoreham, he texted his fiancee Giovanna Chirico telling her to get the children ready so they could take them out for lunch on his return home.
She told him she loved him and his last words to her were, ‘I love you too, forever’.
A motorbike and rugby fan, he was also described as a doting father.
Tony Brightwell, 53:
Health care manager Mr Brightwell, from Hove, was indulging his twin passions of planes and cycling when tragedy struck.
His fiancee Lara watched him cycle off to watch one of the last Vulcan bomber flights, ‘but he never came home’, she said.
Mr Brightwell gained his private pilot licence at Shoreham, loved food and cooking, and admired Second World War pilots.
Dylan Archer, 42, and Richard Smith, 26:
IT consultant Mr Archer, a father of two who lived in Brighton, and Mr Smith, who lived in Hove, were due to meet up with a third friend to head out for a cycle ride in the South Downs.
Mr Archer, who grew up in the Midlands, had a lifelong passion for bikes and cars, and rode the bike he made himself on the day he died.
Dylan Archer and Richard Smith were due to meet up with a third friend to go on a cycle ride when they were killed in the Shoreham tragedy
After going to university in Birmingham, Buckinghamshire-raised Mr Smith worked in a bicycle shop in Cosham, Portsmouth.
He later moved to Hove where he worked in marketing and web development at ActSmart, a firm that specialises in providing advice to the cycle industry.
Mark Reeves, 53:
Computer-aided design technician Mr Reeves, from Seaford, near Eastbourne, had parked his motorbike to take photographs of planes when the crash happened.
A grandfather, relatives described him as a ‘sun worshipper’ who would often be seen relaxing with a cocktail in hand on holiday.
His family said he was combining two favourite hobbies of riding his cherished Honda bike to take photographs at the air show.
Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23:
The two Worthing United footballers were travelling together in a car to a 3pm home game against Loxwood FC when they were caught up in the crash.
Mr Grimstone’s parents Sue and Phil and brothers David and Paul called him the ‘kindest person you could ever meet’.
Team-mates said Mr Schilt was a ‘tenacious midfielder’ with an eye for a goal.
Mr Grimstone had also worked at Brighton & Hove Albion for seven years, most recently as a groundsman at the Lancing training ground.
Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23, were travelling to Worthing United to play in a home game against Loxwood FC when they were caught up in the crash
Matt Jones, 24, and Daniele Polito, 23:
Father Daniele Polito, from Worthing, was travelling in the same car as personal trainer Matt Jones when tragedy struck.
Mr Polito’s mother Leslye Polito said on the first anniversary of the disaster that the previous 12 months had failed to ease her loss.
A keen DJ, Mr Jones had reportedly recently returned to the UK from living in Australia.
Matt Jones and Daniele Polito both died in the same car
References
- ^ Aidan Radnedge (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ RAF (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ British Airways (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ London (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ winning competitions for his flying and being given the military nickname ‘The Prof (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Who were the 11 victims of the 2015 Shoreham air disaster? (www.dailymail.co.uk)