Date:	Saturday 22 August 2015
Time:	13:22
Type:	Hawker Hunter T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	Canfield Hunter Ltd.
Registration:	G-BXFI
MSN:	41H-670815
Year of manufacture:	1959
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	11
Aircraft damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Category:	Accident
Location:	A27, north of Shoreham Airport, West Sussex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	North Weald Airfield (EGSX)
Destination airport:	North Weald Airfield (EGSX)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Hawker Hunter jet impacted the A27 road during a loop in a display flight at the Shoreham Airshow. Four cars, two motorcycles and three-pedal cycles were hit by the aircraft.
The pilot was pulled from the wreckage and has survived the accident with serious injuries. A total of eleven persons on the ground were killed.

The aircraft had departed North Weald Airfield and continued towards Shoreham for a display flight.
The aircraft, having rolled upright and wings level continued to descend and a right turn was made to line up with the display line to the west of Runway 02/20 at Shoreham. The aircraft remained in a gentle right turn with the angle of bank decreasing as it descended to 100 ft AMSL and flew along the display line. It commenced a gentle climbing right turn to 1,600 ft AMSL, executing a Derry turn to the left and then commenced a descending left turn to 200 ft AMSL, approaching the display line at an angle of about 45º. The aircraft then pitched up into a manoeuvre with both a vertical component and roll to the left, becoming almost fully inverted at the apex of the manoeuvre at a height of approximately 2,600 ft AMSL. During the descent, the aircraft accelerated and the nose was raised but the aircraft did not achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27 at its junction with Old Shoreham Road.

Following the accident, all U.K-registered Hawker Hunter jets were grounded by the CAA until further notice. Also, vintage jet displays over land were limited to fly-by's and low energy turns.

The investigation identified the following causal factors in the accident:

- The aircraft did not achieve sufficient height at the apex of the accident manoeuvre to complete it before impacting the ground because the combination of low entry speed and low engine thrust in the upward half of the manoeuvre was insufficient.
- An escape manoeuvre was not carried out, despite the aircraft not achieving the required minimum apex height.

The following contributory factors were identified:
- The pilot either did not perceive that an escape manoeuvre was necessary, or did not realise that one was possible at the speed achieved at the apex of the manoeuvre.
- 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.
- The pilot 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.
- A change of ground track during the manoeuvre positioned the aircraft further east than planned producing an exit track along the A27 dual carriageway.
- The manoeuvre took place above an area occupied by the public over which the organisers of the flying display had no control.
- The severity of the outcome was due to the absence of provisions to mitigate the effects of an aircraft crashing in an area outside the control of the organisers of the flying display.

- 2018 March: Andy Hill, from Sandon, Hertfordshire, will be charged with manslaughter, according to the CPS and will also be formally charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft.
- 2018, April: Andy Hill will plead not guilty to manslaughter.

https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aircraft-accident-report-aar-1-2017-g-bxfi-22-august-2015
________________________________________
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34027260
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/22/hawker-hunter-plane-crash-shoreham-air-show-reports
http://www.fradu-hunters.co.uk/fraduhnt/877wv372.html
http://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-registration/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34034430
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/aaib-special-bulletin-on-hawker-hunter-t7-g-bxfi
https://www.caa.co.uk/Safety-initiatives-and-resources/Safety-projects/Airshow-review/CAA-review-of-public-air-display-arrangements-in-the-UK/
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=11&mode=detail&id=6955 (CAP1351 progress report)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-35136046
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-hawker-hunter-t7-g-bxfi-special-bulletin-s4-2015
2018 march: https://news.sky.com/story/shoreham-airshow-disaster-pilot-andy-hill-to-be-charged-with-manslaughter-11299230
2018 april: https://www.spiritfm.net/news/sussex-news/2557828/shoreham-air-crash-pilot-pleads-not-guilty-to-manslaughter/
_________________________________________________
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=11&mode=detail&id=7318 (CAP1400)
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/shoreham-high-court-judgement (press release 28 Sept 2016)
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/FACTOR%20Master%20Colour%20Template%20-%20BXFI%20Recs%20Update20180213.pdf

The Hawker Hunter has crashed at #Shoreham. This is a truly awful scene. pic.twitter.com/MZ1i55qLNA

— Nicholas Hair (@NDH37087) August 22, 2015

"Hawker Hunter T.7, Private JP7180533" by Aldo Bidini - Gallery page http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7180533 Photo http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/4/3/1/8/85085_1312747813.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.

Shoreham Airshow disaster, pilot Andy Hill to be charged with manslaughter, UK.
After years of investigation into the crash, Andy Hill is facing criminal charges for manslaughter and endangering an aircraft.https://t.co/znSFVFcQsm pic.twitter.com/ZGWgReMd32

— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 21 mars 2018

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Aug-2015 12:27	harro	Added
22-Aug-2015 12:38	harro	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Embed code, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 12:51	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Damage, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 13:47	Aerossurance	Updated [Source]
22-Aug-2015 13:53	harro	Updated [Registration, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 13:57	Aerossurance	Updated [Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 14:06	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 14:19	harro	Updated [Embed code]
22-Aug-2015 15:02	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Embed code]
22-Aug-2015 15:54	Aerossurance	Updated [Time, Registration, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Narrative]
22-Aug-2015 16:04	harro	Updated [Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Narrative]
23-Aug-2015 07:16	Chieftain	Updated [Nature]
23-Aug-2015 16:14	niceboy66	Updated [Other fatalities]
23-Aug-2015 16:14	Michael Roots	Updated [Other fatalities, Source]
23-Aug-2015 16:14	harro	Updated [Source]
26-Aug-2015 17:48	Aircraft19	Updated [Narrative]
26-Aug-2015 17:50	harro	Updated [Narrative]
03-Sep-2015 13:26	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
04-Sep-2015 13:42	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Narrative]
04-Sep-2015 13:46	Aerossurance	Updated [Time, Narrative]
04-Sep-2015 17:34	harro	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source]
06-Sep-2015 06:47	Iceman 29	Updated [Photo, ]
06-Sep-2015 06:47	Iceman 29	Updated [Photo, ]
21-Dec-2015 14:31	Aerossurance	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
22-Dec-2015 10:05	Crabfat	Updated [Source]
02-Jul-2016 09:06	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Narrative]
28-Sep-2016 10:07	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Narrative]
03-Mar-2017 17:38	harro	Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
18-Feb-2018 09:36	Aerossurance	Updated [Location, Source]
21-Mar-2018 20:20	Iceman 29	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
19-Apr-2018 19:53	Iceman 29	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
01-Apr-2022 06:45	PolandMoment	Updated [Narrative]