An investigation has found that a series of pilot errors caused the Shoreham Airshow disaster which led to the deaths of 11 men.

A vintage 1955 Hawker Hunter aircraft, flown by pilot Andy Hill, crashed onto the busy A27 in West Sussex on 22 August 2015.

A further 13 people were injured in the disaster and a final report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) listed a series of failings including poor risk assessments. One of them was that Hill had "not received formal training to escape the manoeuvre".

The 52-year-old pilot from Hertfordshire survived the crash and has been the subject of a manslaughter investigation by Sussex Police. Prosecutors are reportedly thinking about bringing a case after he was interviewed under caution.

It was said in the report that Hill had failed to gain enough height and speed to complete the "bent loop" manoeuvre he was undertaking before the crash.

Investigators said they believed it would have been possible for Hill to halt the manoeuvre but concluded that he either felt it unnecessary or did not know how to do it.

The AAIB interviewed Hill seven times in the past 18 months but he was unable to remember anything about the flight itself.

The report said: "The pilot had not received formal training to escape from the accident manoeuvre in a Hunter and had not had his competence to do so assessed.

"He had not practised the technique for escaping from the accident manoeuvre in a Hunter and did not know the minimum speed from which an escape manoeuvre could be carried out successfully".

Other findings concluded that the plane was not supposed to have been performing the stunt over the A27 as organisers could not control where the plane would come down.

It was stated that the plane had "not been properly maintained". Part of the fuel pump showed signs of ageing and was not considered airworthy.

The report also criticised the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which approves safety conditions at airshows. It said the CAA attended only 7% of the airshows that it had approved on safety grounds.

The report made 32 recommendations which focused on the maintenance of military planes, the quality of risk assessments and the permits pilots are given. </s> A pilot whose aircraft crashed during the Shoreham Airshow and killed 11 people will be charged with manslaughter, according to the CPS.

Andy Hill, from Sandon, Hertfordshire, will also be formally charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Police and prosecutors met families of victims of the disaster on Wednesday evening to confirm that the pilot is now facing criminal charges.

Eleven men died when the vintage Hawker Hunter aircraft came down onto the busy A27 in West Sussex when Mr Hill attempted a loop manoeuvre on 22 August 2015.

Simon Ringrose, CPS specialist prosecutor, said: "Following a careful review of the evidence I have found there is sufficient evidence to charge Mr Hill with the manslaughter by gross negligence of the eleven men who died.

"I have also authorised a further charge against Mr Hill of endangering an air craft, contrary to Article 127 of the Air Navigation Order 2009."

Mr Hill, who turns 54 on Thursday, is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 19.

He will be charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and one count of endangering an aircraft, which can incur a jail term of up to five years, the CPS said.



An earlier investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found a series of pilot errors caused the crash.

The final report by the AAIB found that Mr Hill failed to gain enough height to complete the "bent loop" manoeuvre he attempted moments before crashing.

It would have been possible for him to abandon the manoeuvre, but it was concluded that Mr Hill either deemed it unnecessary or did not know how to pull out.

Mr Hill survived the crash after being thrown clear from the plane. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition and placed in a medically induced coma. He was discharged from hospital the following month after recovering.

Mr Hill received flying training with the RAF and served as an instructor and fast jet pilot before going into commercial aviation.

He was authorised by the Civil Aviation Authority to fly the Hawker Hunter in displays and was issued with a medical certificate in January 2015, which was valid for 12 months.

The AAIB report said: "The pilot had not received formal training to escape from the accident manoeuvre in a Hunter and had not had his competence to do so assessed.

"He had not practised the technique for escaping from the accident manoeuvre in a Hunter, and did not know the minimum speed from which an escape manoeuvre could be carried out successfully".

The report also found the plane was not supposed to have been performing its display over the A27, but instead over the airfield.

The error meant that event organisers had no control over where the plane came down.

An interim report by the AAIB had found that the Shoreham organisers were unaware of Mr Hill's display plans before his jet crashed.

A risk assessment had been carried out, identifying that crowds often gathered on the A27.

However, the assessment was not fit for purpose and did not consider which particular aircraft would be displaying and the people most likely to be at risk.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the Civil Aviation Authority grounded all Hawker Hunter aircraft and restricted other vintage jets flying over land to performing fly-pasts only.

The distance between display lines and crowds was also increased.
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