Shoreham air crash trial: Jurors given tour of similar jet

The RAF Hawker Hunter is on display at the Gatwick Aviation Museum

Jurors in the Shoreham air crash trial have sat in the cockpit of a plane similar to that which crashed in 2015.

They were taken to the Gatwick Aviation Museum to see an example of the type of vintage fighter jet involved in the disaster over the A27 on 22 August.

Experts demonstrated the controls and instruments of the RAF Hawker Hunter used for training.

Pilot Andrew Hill, 54, denies 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence following a loop manoeuvre.

The 11 jury members were accompanied by the Old Bailey trial judge Mr Justice Andrew Edis, prosecutors and defence barristers for the visit to the museum in Charlwood, Surrey, close to Gatwick Airport.

They were able to touch the flying controls and examine the plane's altimeter, airspeed and g-force indicators.

Mr Hill is accused of flying too low and too slow to complete a manoeuvre before he crashed, resulting in the deaths of 11 men on the ground.

Seconds before the jet crashed onto the A27 in Shoreham

Earlier in the trial, his barrister told the court that Mr Hill believed he was incapacitated, possibly by the physical effects of flying the jet, with his injuries causing him not to remember the flight.

The pilot was thrown from the burning plane, and told medics he "blacked out in the air".

Mr Hill, of Sandon in Hertfordshire, did not attend the site visit.

Technical experts for both the prosecution and defence - ex-Royal Navy pilot Jonathon Whaley and former RAF Red Arrows display pilot Andy Cubin - explained the features of the aircraft.

They walked around the plane showing jurors the wings, engine, fuel tank and other components including the flap, before explaining how it is used to give the plane lift during slower speeds, particularly during take-off and landing.

Jurors were then invited one-by-one or in pairs to climb into the cockpit while both experts demonstrated the controls, what they are used for and how the plane differed from the model involved in the crash.

The trial continues on Tuesday.