Relatives of victims of the Shoreham airshow disaster in which 11 men died have expressed their disappointment after the display pilot who crashed a vintage Hawker Hunter jet was cleared of manslaughter.

Andrew Hill, 54, a former British Airways captain who was also an RAF flying instructor, was accused during his trial of flying “too low and too slow” as he attempted a “bent loop” manoeuvre. He claimed he experienced “cognitive impairment” while at the controls, brought on by hypoxia possibly due to G-force.

Up to 20,000 spectators were at the airshow when the 1950s ex-military jet crashed on to the A27 in West Sussex and erupted into a fireball on 22 August 2015.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The vintage jet just before the Shoreham airshow crash in 2015. Photograph: Sussex police/CPS/PA

The 11 who died were Maurice Abrahams, 76; Dylan Archer, 42; Tony Brightwell, 53; Matthew Grimstone, 23; Matt Jones, 24; Graham Mallinson, 72; Daniele Polito, 23; Mark Reeves, 53; Jacob Schilt, 23; Richard Smith, 26; and Mark Trussler, 54. They all lived in Sussex.

Hill was seriously injured after his cockpit separated from the rest of the aircraft and his seat was thrown clear. He was found partially conscious near burning wreckage.

He told jurors he had no memory of the crash or the events immediately before it and had never watched video footage of it, and he said the devastation caused was a dominant thought in his everyday life. He denied 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Shoreham airshow disaster: the 11 victims Read more

Speaking outside the Old Bailey in London following his acquittal, Hill read out the names of the 11 men and said: “I’m truly sorry for the part I played in their deaths.”

Families of those killed wept as the unanimous verdicts were delivered after seven hours of deliberations. The judge, the Hon Mr Justice Edis, acknowledged that the relatives were “enormously upset” and he praised the “very dignified way” they had conducted themselves during the two-month trial.

Matthew Grimstone’s parents, Sue and Phil Grimstone, said the outcome set an alarming precedent for airshows, and they questioned whether displays should be allowed if there was risk of cognitive impairment.

Leslye Polito, the mother of Daniele, a builder, said she was extremely disappointed and felt let down by the justice system. She is one of many who have called for the Shoreham airshow not to take place again as a mark of respect.

The families have called for a “thorough and frank” investigation to prevent future tragedies and will now look to the inquest into the deaths to provide answers.

The prosecution claimed Hill was flying at 2,800ft and failed to select full throttle as he began the ill-fated bent loop. A safe height would have been about 4,300ft, the court was told. He also failed to perform an escape manoeuvre, it was claimed.

Hill, an A-grade student and Cambridge University graduate, was regarded as a respected and competent pilot, the court heard. He joined the RAF after Cambridge, and as a top-performing pilot he was selected as an instructor. He later joined Virgin Atlantic and then moved to British Airways, reaching the senior position of captain.

He was said to have told paramedics after the crash that he had blacked out at the controls. Subsequent medical checks could not establish any condition that might have affected his health, jurors heard.

In hospital he was placed in an induced coma having sustained fractures to his nose, ribs and part of his lower spine, as well as a collapsed lung and serious bruising. He was discharged after a month.

Accounts from survivors read to the courtroom described how they were blown off their feet and then ran for their lives to escape the fireball. Some sustained terrible burns. Of those who died, five were in vehicles. The others were either watching the airshow from a roadside grass verge or waiting to cross the road.

All Hawker Hunter jets were grounded immediately and regulations have since been tightened to limit some displays to flypasts. Shoreham was the greatest loss of life at an airshow since 31 people including the pilot died at Farnborough in 1952.

For a conviction for manslaughter by gross negligence, the jury had to be satisfied that Hill’s conduct was so bad as to amount to a criminal act or omission. Jurors were told that the case hinged on the question of whether the defendant was incapacitated in such as way that he was not in control of the aircraft.

One juror was discharged on the first day of the trial after telling court staff he could never convict anyone over the crash because it was an accident, it can now be reported.

DI Jon Fanner, of Sussex police, said it had been a “long, complex and unique investigation”. While he respected the verdict, it had been “clearly appropriate” for Hill to stand trial, he said.

Sarah Stewart, a partner at the law firm Stewarts, representing some of the relatives, said compensation claims had been settled. She added: “Many families do not look for compensation. They want answers so that future deaths can be prevented.”

She said the families had had to “painfully relive the circumstances of their loved one’s death again and again”. The verdicts went some way towards providing answers, “but it is only one part of the jigsaw”, she said.

Rebecca Smith, of the law firm Irwin Mitchell, representing others affected, said: “While there have been some recommendations from the Air Accident Investigation Branch following their early reports, it is only once the whole event has been examined at the inquest that lessons can be fully learned to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

Andrew Hill profile

Hill, a trained Royal Airforce instructor who was a British Airways captain at the time of the accident, grew up in Kent where he attended a private boarding school. After graduating in computer science he went straight into the RAF, winning a competition when flying a Jet Provost, and he was ranked a top-performing student and selected to become an instructor.

Training in combat, he took part in active service for a month in the 1990s, monitoring a no-fly zone in northern Iraq. He flew Harrier jets, capable of vertical take-off and landing, and won an award for ideas on improving aircraft safety procedures.

He became a commercial pilot with Virgin Atlantic before moving to British Airways and becoming a captain.

• This article was amended on 9 March 2019 to clarify in the second paragraph that Hill no longer works as a British Airways captain.</s>The pilot of a plane which crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 people, has been cleared of manslaughter.

Andy Hill was acquitted following an Old Bailey trial which lasted seven weeks.

Mr Hill said he had no memory of what happened on 22 August, 2015, but believes he must have been cognitively impaired or disorientated to have made such a catastrophic mistake to crash his 1950s Hawker Hunter jet onto a busy dual carriageway.

Mr Hill's flying career began with the Royal Air Force. He was regarded as one of their best pilots, becoming an instructor, as well as taking part in enforcing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq before the overthrown of Saddam Hussein.

After leaving the RAF he became a commercial pilot with Virgin Atlantic and then British Airways. He and his wife Ellen, also a pilot, built their own plane from a kit, and flew it in air shows. It led to further invitations to fly fast jets in displays.

In 2014, he was at the controls of a vintage Jet Provost at an air show at Southport. But the organiser was forced to issue a rare "Stop Stop Stop" radio call because he felt Mr Hill had flown too close to spectators. The prosecution argued he was cavalier and a risk taker.

But some of his fellow pilots defended his record.

George Bacon, from the British Air Display Association, said: "Andy has the most extraordinary record. He really is a very talented, hugely intelligent and bright guy.

"As a pilot he's probably up at least in the top 10% of aviators through his generation of training in the Royal Air Force. I've never known him take any risks.

"He, amongst many others including myself, will have made small errors during the course of our flying careers, but he was a very disciplined, a very focused individual, took a great deal of interest in the detail of every sortie."

At the display in Shoreham, Mr Hill was flying a vintage Hawker Hunter jet that once belonged to the RAF. He was attempting what he called a "bent loop" but the jet wasn't going fast enough, or high enough to complete the inverted circle.

The jet was travelling at 310 knots, without full power. It should have reached between 330 and 350 knots. Instead of reaching 4200 feet above the ground, the apex of the loop was at 2800 feet.

The plane continued its descent and despite a brief attempt to pull up just before it hit the ground, it crashed onto the busy A27. The fireball engulfed cars and people who'd gathered there to watch the display.

Eleven people were killed and a further 16 people were injured.

The crash partially triggered the ejector mechanism in the cockpit and Hill was thrown clear of the wreckage. He suffered extensive injuries including a collapsed lung, and fractured ribs and shoulder. He was in a coma for a week, but was well enough to be discharged from hospital three weeks later.

The Air Accident Investigation Board concluded that there was no mechanical problem with the jet, and after one of the biggest investigations in the history of Sussex Police, Hill was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

For experienced pilots, a loop is relatively straightforward and they should know what to do if they realise they are too low or too slow to complete it.

Mark Petrie, who flies a Jet Provost at air shows, demonstrated the escape manoeuvre to Sky News. At the top of the loop, the inverted plane simply 'unloads' and rolls out in the opposite direction. A pilot should have three or four seconds to decide what to do.

Mr Petrie said: "Had Andy been fully conscious and aware I would have expected he would have spotted that the height at the top of manoeuvre was incorrect and he should then have easily been able to fly an escape manoeuvre and then carry on with his display or stop altogether."

Mr Hill's defence said the routine was so badly executed that the only explanation was that the experienced pilot was "cognitively impaired" possible due to gravitational forces or a lack of oxygen. In extremes, pilots can become unconscious, and it's believed to have caused the death of an RAF Red Arrows pilot who crashed in 2011.

"Blackout doesn't necessarily mean you've completely passed out. What it does mean is that you've lost all your sensory perception." says Mr Petrie.

During his evidence in the witness box, Mr Hill tried to explain his actions at Shoreham, and to defend his reputation. As well as videos of the crash, footage was shown of Mr Hill performing aerobatics in the Hawker Hunter at other air displays.

But he didn't apologise for the catastrophic consequences of the crash, which upset some of the bereaved families who were in court.

Caroline Schlt lost her son Jacob in the disaster and told Sky News: "We all felt that Andrew Hill had to take responsibility for what happened.

"They were very lengthy pieces of video footage that we sat through and it was almost like a masterclass in this is Andrew Hill and this is how he flies. And perhaps his lawyers had told him not to say anything about any sort of remorse, but It just seemed almost like he was lecturing us rather than, as I said, taking responsibility."

Her husband Bob questions why such fast jets are even flown at displays.

He said: "They weren't designed for looping the loop. They were designed for air defence. They were fighter bombers. I suppose It might be an entertainment to watch a juggernaut doing handbrake turns, I don't know. It just seemed a bit bizarre really."

Understandably the Shoreham disaster had a profound impact on air displays. Hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to see them all over the country, but the rules have been tightened, fast jets cannot perform aerobatics over populated areas, and Hawker Hunters are still banned from performing at all.

Oliver Wheeldon from the Heritage Aircraft Trust, who owns and flies a Gnat jet which used to belong to the Red Arrows defends the use of ex-military jets in displays.

He said: "Everyone displays to their own personal limits and if that means that people no longer feel comfortable displaying to their personal limit - that would normally include loops, barrel rolls and other what we consider to be high energy manoeuvres, I think that would be a shame for the public because part of the spectacle is to display these aircraft in the context of what they were designed for.

"And if all of a sudden we only feel inclined to, for personal risk and other reasons to fly them straight past the crowd, straight and level, I think the nation's lost something."

The display business argues that this was an isolated tragic incident, the first public fatalities an air display since 31 died at the Farnborough air show in 1952. But that's no comfort to the families of the 11 men who died in such a horrific way.

Mr Hill may have no memory of the crash, but the bereaved relatives will never forget his catastrophic mistake.</s>The pilot in the Shoreham Airshow disaster has been cleared of 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence when he crashed in 2015.

Andrew Hill, 54, was accused of killing 11 people when his Hawker Hunter jet ploughed into the A27 in West Sussex.

The pilot had been attempting to perform a loop when disaster struck during his display at the Shoreham air show on August 22, 2015.

The prosecution had claimed that Mr Hill had a "cavalier attitude" to safety and had previously taken unnecessary risks during airshows.

But his defence team claimed he had been affected by the G Forces which had caused a subtle "cognitive impairment" related to hypoxia.

Video footage played at the Old Bailey showed the jet exploding into a ball of flames as it came down.

Hill, who was thrown from the cockpit wreckage, was seriously injured and told medics he had "blacked out", the court has heard.

The defendant, of Sandon, Buntingford, Hertfordshire has denied 11 charges of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Mr Justice Edis sent the jury out to deliberate on its verdicts on Wednesday afternoon, and returned on Friday with their verdict.

Speaking outside of court, Mr Hill said he was "truly sorry for the part I played in their deaths", and said it was a day he would "never forget".</s>The pilot whose plane crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has been cleared of manslaughter.

Andrew Hill had been attempting a loop when his Hawker Hunter jet exploded into a fireball on the A27 in England.

Survivors ran for their lives and suffered terrible burns when they were caught in the blast on August 22, 2015.

Mr Hill miraculously survived after being thrown clear from the burning wreckage into brambles.

He was flown to hospital with life-threatening injured and placed in an induced coma before being discharged a month later.

The prosecution said the former RAF and British Airways pilot had been flying too low and slow as he attempted the disastrous stunt.

Tom Kark QC alleged he had at times a “cavalier” attitude to safety and a history of taking risks, having played “fast and loose” with the rules in the past.

But Mr Hill claimed he blacked out in the air, having experienced “cognitive impairment” brought on by hypoxia possibly due to the effects of G-force.

The 54-year-old, of Sandon, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, denied 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The victims were Maurice Abrahams, 76; Dylan Archer, 42; Tony Brightwell, 53; Matthew Grimstone, 23; Matt Jones, 24; Graham Mallinson, 72; Daniele Polito, 23; Mark Reeves, 53; Jacob Schilt, 23; Richard Smith, 26; and Mark Trussler, 54, who all lived in Sussex.</s>Shoreham Airshow pilot Andy Hill has been found not guilty by a jury.

After a seven week trial the jury at the Old Bailey has announced its verdict.

Hill, 54, of Standon Road, Buntingford, was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

He had been flying a Hawker Hunter jet in 2015 when it crashed onto the A27 and led to the deaths of 11 people.

Today the jury in his trial found him not guilty on all counts.</s>Andrew Hill said he was “truly sorry for the part I played” Jonathan Brady/PA

A pilot whose jet crashed onto a busy road after he attempted to perform a loop at an air show has been cleared of 11 charges of manslaughter.

Victims’ families wept in court as a jury gave a unanimous verdict clearing Andrew Hill of gross negligence over the crash at Shoreham in August 2015.

Mr Hill, 54, a former RAF instructor, fast jet pilot and serving British Airways captain, was flying a 1950s Hawker Hunter when he crashed into queueing traffic on the A27 in West Sussex.

Today Mr Hill said he was “truly sorry for the part I played”.

His jet exploded into a fireball. Five of the 11 men killed were in vehicles and six were watching the show from the road.</s>Pilot Andrew Hill has been found not guilty of manslaughter over 2015 Shoreham Airshow crash, in which 11 people died.

Mr Hill's ex-military Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 in Sussex on 22 August 2015.

The ex-RAF pilot denied deliberately committing to a loop manoeuvre despite flying too low and too slow.</s>The pilot whose plane crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has been cleared of manslaughter.

Andrew Hill had been attempting a loop-the-loop when his Hawker Hunter jet exploded into a fireball on the A27 on August 22, 2015.

Mr Hill miraculously survived after being thrown clear from the burning wreckage into brambles.

The prosecution said the former RAF and British Airways pilot had been flying too low and slow as he attempted the disastrous stunt.

Prosecutor Tom Kark QC alleged Mr Hill had at times a 'cavalier' attitude to safety and a history of taking risks, having played 'fast and loose' with the rules in the past.

But the jury deliberated for just over seven hours before returning not guilty verdicts.

Families of the victims sobbed and shook their heads at the back of the court.

Hill impassively stared at the floor of the dock as the Old Bailey jury unanimously found him not guilty of the manslaughter of the 11 victims by gross negligence.

Speaking outside court, the pilot read the names of each of those killed and said he was 'truly sorry' for the part he played in their deaths. He added that he would 'remember them for the rest of my life'.

In a statement issued via Sussex Police, Sue and Phil Grimstone, whose son Matthew died in the crash, said: 'Obviously we are devastated the jury have reached this verdict.

'There seems to be no justice for our son Matthew and all 11 men who died in such tragic circumstances.

'We were always told by the police that to prove guilty due to 'gross negligence' the bar was set very high. Despite having compelling evidence from the cockpit footage and expert witnesses, it was not enough.'

They added: 'Why are we allowing any form of aerobatics to be performed when there is now doubt concerning any pilot's ability to avoid becoming cognitively impaired from the normal G forces that will be experienced during an aerobatic display?

'Matthew had no interest in air shows, he could not have cared less. Knowing he died because an aircraft was being flown for fun, for the entertainment of others makes it even harder to bear.

'It has to be remembered that this is a leisure industry, it is not a necessity.'

Trial judge Mr Justice Edis acknowledged the families were 'enormously upset' as he praised the 'very dignified way' they conducted themselves throughout the case.

During the trial, Mr Hill had claimed he blacked out in the air, having experienced 'cognitive impairment' brought on by hypoxia possibly due to the effects of G-force.

The 54-year-old, of Buntingford, Hertfordshire, denied 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Speaking for the first time in public since the incident when he gave evidence at the trial, he denied having a 'cavalier' attitude, insisting he was known for his safety record.

He has never watched footage that captured the moment of the crash and lowered his head when is was played to jurors.

The court heard this was on medical advice from his doctor over fears of how it would affect him.

Hill is now in good health, with medical checks before and after the crash showing no signs of a condition that would have affected him at the time, the court heard.

Prosecutors had claimed the 2015 crash was due to 'pilot error' and although Mr Hill was normally considered 'careful and competent', he had taken 'risks' in the past, suggesting he sometimes played 'fast and loose' with the rules and may have had a 'more cavalier attitude to safety than was appropriate'.

In 2017 a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch also found the disaster was caused by pilot error after the plane was too slow and too low during a loop manoeuvre.

But Mr Hill, an experienced former RAF instructor and British Airways captain, said he took a 'very structured, disciplined approach' to display flying.

He told jurors he sometimes held back from flights he was not comfortable with carrying out, adding: 'We have our strengths and weaknesses.'

Mr Hill said he thinks about the tragedy every day and it was a 'dominant' thought in his mind. He said he never intended to cause any risk to anybody.

The victims were Maurice Abrahams, 76; Dylan Archer, 42; Tony Brightwell, 53; Matthew Grimstone, 23; Matt Jones, 24; Graham Mallinson, 72; Daniele Polito, 23; Mark Reeves, 53; Jacob Schilt, 23; Richard Smith, 26; and Mark Trussler, 54, who all lived in Sussex.

'Someone who has made some very bad errors of judgment is allowed to walk free': Mother of youngest victim says she feels 'let down' by the justice system

The mother of the youngest Shoreham Airshow crash victim said she feels 'let down' by the justice system after the pilot was cleared of manslaughter charges.

A jury found Andrew Hill not guilty of the 11 counts over the 2015 crash.

An official Government report into the accident, published in 2017, found the crash was caused by pilot error when Mr Hill flew too low and too slowly while carrying out the bent loop manoeuvre, and could have been avoided.

Leslye Polito, who lost her son Daniele in the crash, said: 'I feel extremely disappointed, very upset and primarily let down by the justice system when someone who has clearly made some very bad errors of judgment is allowed to walk free.'

The 23-year-old builder left behind two young children, one of whom he never had chance to meet.

He had left work early and was travelling to the beach with a colleague when flames engulfed their car after the plane crashed on the A27.

Mrs Polito, 66, of Goring in West Sussex, said: 'The whole fact that it was avoidable, that was the hardest bit to consider and process. It's still the hardest bit.'

'Bye mum, love you' were the last words Mrs Polito heard her youngest son say, as she had so many times before when he left the house.

That day he had been at work with 24-year-old Matt Jones, who also died in the crash. Their boss had let them leave early to enjoy the hot weather and they were driving to the beach in Mr Jones's car.

She and her husband Nino were at a party when they heard about the crash and discussed it with guests but thought nothing more of it - no-one knew at that stage that anyone had died.

They thought Daniele was still at work. But both he and Mr Jones were killed, while their boss had been driving a few cars behind them and saw the horror unfold.

Mrs Polito said: 'If there's anything good about it, which there isn't, it's that it was all instant.

'It helps to know that. One just learns to live each day as it comes and take every day and live as normally as one can.

'Every birthday, Christmas, Father's Day - it doesn't matter what they are, they are all equally as difficult as the anniversary (of the incident).'

Daniele was never able to meet his youngest son, Jaxson, who was born after he died, Mrs Polito said.

Although they have 'two lovely little boys to carry on his name', she said this was 'bittersweet', adding: 'We have that but we don't have him and he won't get to see either of them grow up.

'We will make sure they know all about their daddy. We talk about Daniele all the time, every day.

'He was full of life, a joker, he was extremely family orientated. Everything to him was family, I think due to his Italian heritage. He wanted to live life to the full.'

A piece of the wreckage is winched from the scene after the Shoreham air crash Families of the Shoreham Airshow crash victims have called for a 'thorough and frank' investigation to halt the grim death toll at displays across England. Sarah Stewart, partner at law firm Stewarts, has represented most of the relatives of the 11 men killed at the 2015 show in West Sussex. Four years on, they have settled compensation claims for undisclosed sums of money but are still waiting for answers. Ms Stewart said the criminal trial of pilot Andrew Hill for manslaughter by gross negligence had put inquests 'on hold'. Its conclusion means that West Sussex Coroner Penelope Schofield can move ahead with full inquests and a thorough investigation into the wider issues. The lawyer said: 'Many families do not look for compensation. They want answers so that future deaths can be prevented. 'It is now almost four years since the Shoreham Airshow disaster killed 11 innocent men. 'The bereaved families have had to painfully relive the circumstances of their loved one's death again and again. The families want answers. 'The inquest will enable a wider investigation into the deaths that occurred by examining the legal framework or rules relating to the supervision of pilots, flights, aircraft and airshows, as well as the various systems in place - including safety planning - to protect observers of the airshow and those in close proximity to it. Locals laid flowers on the Old Tollbridge near the A27 at Shoreham after the crash 'To give the families what they want - which is a thorough, frank investigation into how their loved ones died - the only way forward is a wider investigation into all those things as well. 'The families will only be satisfied once a thorough investigation has been carried out.' The Shoreham air crash in 2015 was the deadliest for 63 years, yet stunt pilot deaths and injuries have been a regular feature of shows in England over the past 100 years. In 1952, 31 people, including pilot John Derry, were killed when a fighter jet crashed during the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire. Just three years later, the pilot of a Hawker Hunter was killed during a fly-by at the same venue which was witnessed by Princess Margaret and 4,000 other spectators. In 1968, six members of the French Air Force were killed in a crash while performing a single engine demonstration at Farnborough. In September 2007, James Bond stunt pilot Brian Brown was killed when his Hawker Hurricane crashed in a fireball after he failed to pull out of a dive during a mock dogfight at Shoreham.</s>Shoreham Airshow crash pilot Andy Hill has been found not guilty of 11 charges of manslaughter by gross misconduct following a lengthy trial.

Hill, 54, of Standon Road, Buntingford, had been flying a Hawker Hunter jet in 2015 when it crashed onto the A27 and led to the deaths of 11 people.

The tragedy tore families apart and sent shockwaves through the community.

The affects of the disaster are still being felt in the area today.

Following a trial pilot Andy Hill was today found not guilty of all 11 charges of manslaughter by gross misconduct.

Now, after eight weeks of evidence at the Old Bailey in London, we look back at some of the key moments from the trial:

Prosecutor Tom Kark QC began the trial with an opening address to the jury, setting out the case for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

“The effects of that crash were devastating, and 11 people lost their lives as a result.

“Mr Hill miraculously escaped, because his cockpit separated from the rest of the aircraft ending in a ditch, his seat was left lying on the ground.

The trial heard that Hill was up to 1,000 feet below the required safety height for the loop manoeuvre.

Mr Kark said: "There was a straightforward escape manoeuvre that could be performed."

He told the court that there was no evidence that a fault with the aircraft contributed to the crash.

Defence issues opening statement: Hill was 'cognitively impaired' before the disaster

On day two of the trial, Hill's defence barrister Karim Khalil QC said his client was not in control of the aircraft during the fateful 'bent loop' stunt.

He told the court: "He is not a cavalier pilot and is not a pilot who was - as has been suggested - playing fast and loose with the lives of onlookers.

"We say that this may not have been about pilot error at all because Andy Hill may not have been in control of what he was doing.

"A proper analysis of the last manoeuvre leads one to the conclusion that he was suffering from cognitive impairment and he was not in full control of his actions.

"Nobody could have made those various errors if they were fully in control of what they were doing and was aware of the situation that was developing. They were simply too numerous."

Airshow flying director and RAF veteran Rodney Dean was the first witness called to give evidence in the trial.

He said pilots should practice what they would do in the case of an emergency like engine failure.

He told the court: "The aircraft is of secondary importance to the people on the ground.

"Pilots should at least - at the very least - work through in their mind what their actions should be in the event of an emergency."

In statements issued to police in 2017, Hill said that he could not remember the events leading up to the disaster, or the crash itself.

Hill said in his 2017 statement, later read out in court: “I have no recollection of the accident or the events leading up to it “

It is possible I experienced ALOC [altered level of consciousness].

“It is also possible that I may have suffered a cognitive impairment for other reasons or a medical issue.”

Top pilot made error trying to recreate 2015 stunt that ended in tragedy

On Monday, February 11 the jury heard how an expert pilot trying to recreate the stunt that ended in tragedy at the Shoreham Airshow made an error himself.

Elite pilot David Southwood pulled up up with just 200ft to spare.

A video shown in court showed him a similar plane to the Hawker Hunter which crashed in 2015.

Defence barrister Mr Khalil made the point that Mr Southwood was a pilot at the top of his field and yet still made this error.

Mr Southwood said: “Every pilot makes error every time you go flying.

“I have certainly never made an error allied to this while display flying.”

Andy Hill takes the witness stand: I was not 'cavalier or thrill-seeking'

When it was his turn to take the witness box, veteran pilot Hill told the trial about his career in the RAF which included time in the famous Harrier aircraft.

He spent a month in Iraq flying the jet as part of the RAF force monitoring the no-fly zone in the late 1990s.

The court also heard that Hill received an award for a computer program he wrote to try and increase safety in a newer version of the Harrier jet.

Defence barrister Mr Khalil asked him: "It has been suggested by the Crown that you were in some way a cavalier or thrill-seeking pilot."

Mr Hill replied: "I would say I was probably one of the least people that applied to in the sense that there are ways to be cavalier and some people are and some people are not.

"I believe I took a very structured, disciplined approach to it and held back from areas I was uncomfortable with doing.

"It was the primary aim of the air display to avoid risk."

READ MORE: Parents of Littlehampton victim react to not guilty verdict



Aviation safety expert Dr Stephen Jarvis told the Old Bailey today that Hill made up to 12 errors in just 23 seconds.

When asked what caused these errors, Mr Jarvis said the only explanation that satisfies him was that Hill suffered a form of cognitive impairment.

Dr Jarvis said the was a 'cascade of errors' towards the end of Hill's flight in the Hunter.

He added: "At that part of the flight errors start to be made and quite a lot of them."

Judge sums up the evidence: 'There has been very little factual dispute in the case'

Last week Mr Justice Andrew Edis told the jury that there was 'very little' disagreement over the facts in the trial.

With all the evidence finished, it is was up to him as trial judge to provide a summary of the case to the jury before they retired to consider their verdict.

Mr Justice Edis said: "There has been very little factual dispute in the case.

"There has been very little disagreement between witnesses about things which have happened."

He pointed to the crux of the case - the question of why the disaster happened.

The jury were sent out on Monday.

Following eight weeks of evidence, pilot Andy Hill was today cleared of all 11 charges.

Click here to read the story from this morning.</s>Pilot Andy Hill has been cleared of 11 counts of manslaughter after the Shoreham Airshow crash.

Eleven men died when Mr Hill's jet crashed onto the A27 in August 2015.

After the verdicts Mr Hill read a statement outside court.
Pilot Andy Hill is acquitted of eleven counts of manslaughter arising from the 2015 accident, in which a jet flown by Hill struck a road in Shoreham, England.