Shoreham air crash trial: Pilot forced to stop in previous show

Air show spectators witness the moment of the crash

A pilot whose plane crashed during an air show, killing 11 people, was forced to stop at a previous show because he flew two low and close to the spectators, a court heard.

Andrew Hill denies 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence, after a stunt at Shoreham in 2015.

David Walton, flight director of the Southport Airshow the previous year, said he ordered an emergency "stop stop stop" call to Mr Hill.

"It's a... rare occurrence," he said.

An ex-military pilot, Mr Hill, 54, had flown at Shoreham Airshow six times before the crash, which saw the Hawker Hunter jet plummet onto the A27 following a loop manoeuvre.

Mr Walton told the jury during the Southport show in 2014, Mr Hill was performing a roll manoeuvre but "got very close to the crowd line and below the minimum height for the event".

Seconds before the jet crashed onto the A27 in Shoreham

He said Mr Hill "certainly breached" the display line, which set out the safe parameters 230m away from the crowd, and was flying at below 100ft.

He said he called "stop stop stop on the radio display frequency to get him to end it" as soon as the manoeuvre was completed, so as not to distract him further during the stunt.

Prosecutor Tom Kark QC asked: "How common is a stop stop stop call?"

Mr Walton said: "It's a pretty rare occurrence."

He told the court only around five times in his experience of up to 300 displays had he needed to use the emergency measure.

He "had a chat" with Mr Hill about the incident later that day and said Mr Hill acknowledged something had gone wrong, jurors heard.

The trial at the Old Bailey continues.