Shoreham air crash victims unlawfully killed, coroner concludes

A vintage Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 killing 11 men in 2015

Eleven men who died when a jet crashed on a dual carriageway during an air show were unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.

The men died when a Hawker Hunter plane crashed on the A27 in West Sussex as it carried out a stunt at the Shoreham Airshow on 22 August 2015.

The pilot, Andrew Hill, was cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield said the plane crashing was "a result of the manner in which it was flown".

"This was not a small misjudgement," she told the inquest in Horsham, finding the pilot had two opportunities to escape the manoeuvre and prevent the crash.

"In my view, this goes beyond a mere mistake," the West Sussex coroner added.

Ms Schofield said that although she recorded a narrative verdict of unlawful killing, it did not "detract from the fact" Mr Hill was acquitted in a criminal court in 2019.

Pilot Andrew Hill was acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter in 2019

Mr Hill has always maintained he has no recollection of the crash.

The former RAF instructor claimed at his trial that he had blacked out in the air, having experienced "cognitive impairment" brought on by hypoxia possibly due to the effects of G-force.

However, the coroner found there was no evidence of any G-force related impairment of the pilot during the loop-the-loop stunt he performed.

Mr Hill was not called as a witness to the inquest, having submitted evidence to the investigation.

At the pre-inquest review in September, his request for Ms Schofield to rule out a verdict of unlawful killing was denied.

'This huge loss'

The crash injured another 13 people, including the pilot.

A number of the victims' family members were present and in tears as the conclusion was delivered.

Ms Schofield said: "Eleven innocent lives were cruelly lost, lives that were cut too short.

"This huge loss will be borne by their families for the rest of their lives."

The eleven men who died were: Matt Jones, Matthew Grimstone, Jacob Schilt, Maurice Abrahams, Richard Smith. (Bottom row, left to right) Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell, Mark Trussler, Daniele Polito, Dylan Archer, Graham Mallinson

The victims

• Matt Jones, a 24-year-old personal trainer

• Matthew Grimstone, 23, a Worthing United footballer who worked as a groundsman at Brighton & Hove Albion

• Jacob Schilt, also 23 and also a Worthing United player, was travelling to a match with Mr Grimstone

• Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton, was a chauffeur on his way to pick up a bride on her wedding day

• Friends Richard Smith, 26, and Dylan Archer, 42, who were going for a bike ride on the South Downs

• Mark Reeves, 53, had ridden his motorcycle to the perimeter of Shoreham Airport to take photos of the planes

• Tony Brightwell, 53, from Hove was an aircraft enthusiast and had learnt to fly at Shoreham airfield

• Mark Trussler, 54, is thought to have been riding his motorcycle on the A27

• Daniele Polito was travelling in the same car as Mr Jones

• Graham Mallinson, 72, from Newick, was a keen photographer and retired engineer

UK law firm Stewarts represented some of the families who lost loved ones in the disaster.

Partner Sarah Stewart said: "The bereaved families have waited more than seven years to reach this point and although the senior coroner's conclusion will not ease the pain of their loss, their voices have been heard."

The families, she added, said they had reached "the end of their road" in terms of legal proceedings.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) inquiry concluded that the crash could have been avoided and was caused by pilot error when Mr Hill flew too low and too slowly while carrying out a manoeuvre.

All 21 safety recommendations made by the AAIB were accepted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

They included a review into whether changes should be made to the minimum distance required between the public and display aircraft, and a review of guidance for air show organisers, including how they carry out risk assessments.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].