Shoreham Air Crash Pilot Andrew Hill Apologises As He's Cleared Of Manslaughter

He had been attempting a loop when his vintage Hawker Hunter jet exploded into a fireball on the A27 in 2015.
Pilot Andrew Hill has been cleared of manslaughter
Pilot Andrew Hill has been cleared of manslaughter
PA Wire/PA Images

The pilot whose plane crashed during the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has apologised after he was cleared of manslaughter.

Andrew Hill said he was “truly sorry for the part I played” in the accident.

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

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

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.

(top row left to right) Matthew Grimstone, Matt Jones, Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell and Mark Trussler. (Bottom row left to right) Dylan Archer, Richard Smith, Graham Mallinson, Maurice Abrahams and Daniele Polito, who died in the Shoreham Airshow crash
(top row left to right) Matthew Grimstone, Matt Jones, Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell and Mark Trussler. (Bottom row left to right) Dylan Archer, Richard Smith, Graham Mallinson, Maurice Abrahams and Daniele Polito, who died in the Shoreham Airshow crash
PA

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 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.

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