'We want to know why our son died in Shoreham crash'

Sue and Phil Grimstone say they want the CAA to be held accountable for safety failings at the Shoreham Airshow

A couple whose son died in the Shoreham Airshow crash ten years ago are calling for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - the body that regulates aviation safety in the UK - to be held accountable for the disaster.

Phil and Sue Grimstone's son Matthew died whilst driving to a football game on the A27 in West Sussex when a plane crashed into his car.

Pilot Andy Hill was cleared of manslaughter but the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) listed a series of failings, including poor risk assessments.

The CAA said all recommendations and safety improvements from investigations and reviews were fully implemented.

The last time Mr Grimstone saw Matthew he was on his way out of the family house in Burgess Hill to go and play football for Worthing United.

Matthew was "a lovely boy - so kind, so gentle," said Mr Grimstone.

"He went 'OK, see you later,' and the door shut, and that was the last time I saw him."

Matthew was travelling with his teammate Jacob Schilt, also 23, when the car was hit by a Hawker Hunter that dive-bombed into the road after failing to complete a loop manouvre.

Mr Schilt also died, along with nine other men in the disaster.

Matthew Grimstone was with his friend and teammate Jacob Schilt when their car was hit by the vintage plane

Mr and Mrs Grimstone believe that the public's safety was compromised and ignored at the expense of the Shoreham Airshow going ahead.

In 2017 in its final report on the Shoreham Airshow disaster, the AAIB found the severity of the outcome of the crash was due to "an absence of provisions to mitigate the effects of an aircraft crashing in an area outside the control of the organisers of the flying display".

The report said the risk assessment "was not suitable and sufficient to manage the risks to the public", and the CAA did not require to see or approve risk assessments before issuing a permission to hold a flying display.

Rob Bishton, Chief Executive at the CAA, said: "Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those affected on the tenth anniversary of the Shoreham Airshow crash.

"Airshows continue to be subject to rigorous oversight to ensure the highest possible safety standards are maintained."

Ms Grimstone said: "Why would you allow an airshow to go ahead without checking the risk assessment?

"They (CAA) were responsible for the regulation for safety of third parties within the area, as I see it, and they didn't have anything to protect them.

"They allowed aircraft to perform aerobatics over the road. That was down to the CAA in their permission, and so they have to take accountability for that."

Mr Hill was performing a bent loop when he crashed on the A27, killing 11 men

At an inquest in 2022 a coroner blamed pilot Andy Hill for the crash.

Ms Grimstone said: "I need to know why Matthew died."

She acknowledged that while the pilot was responsible, "those allowing him to be there" also needed to take accountability.

Mr and Mrs Grimstone said their family had contacted the parliamentary ombudsman to make a formal complaint about the CAA.

Tim Loughton, who was the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham at the time of the disaster, said he shared the concerns of many of the families about the way the CAA handled the event ten years ago, and it was important to make sure the CAA was properly scrutinised and that the changes brought about as a result of the Shoreham Airshow had had the necessary impact.

Mr Bishton from the CAA added: "Following the crash, several investigations and safety reviews were carried out to help prevent similar incidents in the future.

"This included an immediate review of airshow safety and a full investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

"All recommendations and safety improvements from these reviews were fully implemented. "