On 22 August 2015, a Hawker Hunter T7 aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which killed 31 people.
The aircraft failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed, hitting vehicles on the A27 road adjacent to the airport. The pilot, Andy Hill, was critically injured but survived. All civilian-registered Hawker Hunter aircraft in the United Kingdom were grounded, and restrictions were put in place on civilian vintage jet aircraft displays over land, limiting them to high-level flypasts and banning aerobatic manoeuvres.
The investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the crash resulted from pilot error. In 2018, Hill was charged with eleven counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of endangering an aircraft. He was found not guilty on all counts on 8 March 2019. The organisers of the Shoreham Airshow denied any responsibility for the crash.
An inquest into the deaths of the victims was scheduled to be held in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 30 November 2022, pending the outcome of some procedural issues. In December 2022, the coroner found that the victims were unlawfully killed as their deaths were caused by an incorrect manoeuvre and a series of gross errors. Hill's final appeal for review of the decision not to reinstate his flying licences was denied in May 2025.
After the crash, regulations for airshows were significantly tightened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), increasing costs to organisers to fund the new safety measures to a degree that led to the cancellation of later shows.
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft was a 1950s two-seat Hawker Hunter T7, registration G-BXFI serial 41H-670815, displaying its former military serial number WV372 as part of its livery. Having first flown for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in July 1955, it was rebuilt following a fire, returning to service in 1959 after conversion to T7 specification. It had been making civilian display flights as a warbird since 1998, under a variety of owners. At the time of the accident, it was owned by Graham Peacock, and based at North Weald Airfield, Essex. The aircraft had flown to Shoreham Airport from North Weald and was scheduled to return there after the display.
Andy Hill, the 51-year-old pilot, was described by colleagues as experienced, with more than 12,000 flight hours. He had worked as a captain at British Airways. He had flown Hawker Siddeley Harriers and worked as an instructor for the RAF before joining the airline. As well as the Hawker Hunter, he flew a Van's RV-8 and a BAC Jet Provost at airshows.
Airshow
The aircraft was taking part in the first day of the two-day Shoreham Airshow, held in aid of the Royal Air Forces Association. The conditions were hot and sunny, with a crosswind up to 15 knots, described as not unusual for this coastal location by the local media. The Hunter had been opening the afternoon session of displays; the morning programme up to 12:30 BST (11:30 UTC) had already featured The Blades aerobatic team (opening), Justyn Gorman Aerobatics, an AutoGyro Calidus, the Tiger 9 Aeronautical Display Team (six aircraft only), a Pitts Special, The Twister aerobatic team (one aircraft only), an RAF Tutor, and the RAF Falcons parachute display team.
Accident
Crash
The Hunter commenced its display with a low pass along the runway from south to north, turning for a second pass in the opposite direction. As it neared the airport, it pulled up into an inside loop. This manoeuvre started from a height of 200 feet (60 m), which leading aviation expert David Learmount later said "left no room for misjudgement". The loop should have been started at a height of 500 feet (150 m) and a speed of at least 350 knots (650 km/h), attaining a height of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and 150 knots (280 km/h) at the top of the loop. Only 2,700 feet (820 m) and 105 knots (194 km/h) were achieved from an initial entry speed of 310 knots (570 km/h).
Before it could complete the loop, the aircraft crashed in a nose-high attitude onto the west-bound carriageway of the A27 road. The aircraft broke into four parts on impact: cockpit, left wing and main body, tail, and right wing, destroying several cars in the process. Fuel escaping from the fuel tanks ignited in a large fireball and plume of smoke immediately following the impact. The crash occurred at 13:22 BST (12:22 UTC). The first fire appliance arrived at the scene within 90 seconds of the crash. Footage of the accident was captured by spectators, as well as a dashcam mounted in a car that was travelling towards the crash site.
Casualties
Eleven people on the ground were killed and sixteen others were injured. Those confirmed dead included two players from Worthing United F.C. Eight vehicles were destroyed in the crash, including a Daimler DS420 limousine which was en route to collect a bride to transport her to church for her wedding. The driver of the Daimler was one of the fatalities.
The aircraft had departed from North Weald with its ejector seat in a live condition. Hill was thrown clear of the aircraft still strapped into the live seat, which posed an additional danger to rescuers. He survived the crash with serious injuries, and was flown to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in nearby Brighton; his condition was described as critical and he was said to be fighting for his life. He was subsequently placed in a medically-induced coma. He was released from hospital in September 2015.
After a thorough area search of the crash site, all the recovered components of the aircraft were taken to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) facility at Farnborough, Hampshire, for examination.
Response
A de Havilland Sea Vixen was already airborne ready to perform the next display after the Hunter; instead it flew overhead at altitude and departed to the north. With an Avro Vulcan due half an hour later at 14:05, it was decided to let it perform a tribute flypast, after which the show was closed. All of the aircraft at the airport were already grounded due to the lack of fire cover and the creation of an exclusion zone around the accident site.
Following the crash, the A27 was closed in both directions, requiring those attending to exit via a height restricted route, through the industrial estate of the airport to the A259. People were initially required to remain at the airport due to the requirement to collect evidence and witness statements. Those at the airport were initially only allowed to exit on the A27 side via the A27 footpaths. A West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service appliance was first on scene, closely followed by the airport emergency vehicles, and medical personnel from the British Red Cross, who were providing medical cover at the airshow. The second day of the air show on 23 August was cancelled. The A27 was partially reopened on 30 August.
Adur District Council (Shoreham Airport is within the Lancing parish of Adur District) set up online and physical books of condolence. Together with West Sussex County Council they also opened a charitable fund to support victims of the accident, to be administered by the Sussex Community Foundation, a registered charity.
In March 2017, Adur District Council announced that a series of sculptures were to be placed along the banks of the River Adur as a memorial. In May 2019, a permanent memorial was erected near the Shoreham Tollbridge.
Aftermath
The airshow at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, which took place the following weekend, opened with "a pause for thought" for those who died at Shoreham. The Clacton airshow takes place over the sea, similar to the Bournemouth Airshow which took place the same weekend as the accident and ran for both days.
On 24 August 2015, the CAA imposed restrictions on "vintage jet aircraft" performing over land at airshows until further notice, reducing displays to flypasts only. In addition, all Hawker Hunters on the United Kingdom civil aircraft register were grounded until further notice, although military-registered Hunters were not affected. The restrictions were to remain in place until the completion of the investigation into the accident, and a wider review of safety at airshows was to be undertaken by the CAA. In January 2016, the CAA brought in stricter requirements for airshows in the United Kingdom. The grounding of civilian Hunters was lifted on 6 July 2017; however, aircraft would be subject to enhanced maintenance and inspection regimes before a permit to fly would be granted. The ban on Hawker Hunter and other jet aircraft on the United Kingdom civil register performing aerobatic manoeuvres remained in place. On 1 March 2018, the CAA lifted its ban on straight-wing ex-military jet aircraft from performing aerobatics at airshows; a ban on swept-wing aircraft remained in place.
The airshow scheduled to be held at Durham Tees Valley Airport on 29 August 2015 was postponed. Organisers stated that the new regulations in place would have "severely limited" some of the displays of the jet aircraft. The airshow would have been the first in the area since 1989; it took place in 2016.
Other air shows on the following weekend were not postponed but some displays were altered to match the CAA restrictions, including the Wings and Wheels display at Dunsfold Aerodrome where a one-minute silent tribute to the victims was held before the start of the air display.
As of February 2025, no further Shoreham Airshow has taken place or been announced.
The 2016 Llandudno Airshow was cancelled, due to a lack of time to make changes in light of new regulations introduced by the CAA. For the 2016 Farnborough Airshow, the Red Arrows performed a flypast rather than an aerobatic display, stating that the latter would not be appropriate in the aftermath of the Shoreham accident.
In August 2016, it was reported that the aircraft's owners had admitted liability for the accident in late 2015. Two claims for compensation had been settled with a third in the final stages of settlement.
In March 2019 it was announced that the public flying days at the Farnborough Airshow would not continue. "Negative and vitriolic feedback" following the 2018 airshow, falling visitor numbers and tighter regulations introduced in the wake of the crash at Shoreham – which made it impossible for exhibitors such as the Red Arrows to perform aerobatics close to populated areas – were given as factors that contributed towards the decision. Farnborough would be a five-day trade show, with public admittance on the Friday only.
Investigations
AAIB
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), responsible for investigating civil aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, sent a team to Shoreham. As a part of the investigation, the AAIB appealed for members of the public to contact them if they had photographs or video of the accident, and received a large number of such recordings from a variety of locations around the airport. The aircraft was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. The AAIB published an interim report on 4 September. The report stated that "To date, no abnormal indications have been identified. Throughout the flight, the aircraft appeared to be responding to the pilot's control inputs".
A second Special Bulletin was published by the AAIB on 21 December 2015. It revealed that the aircraft was not compliant with its Permit to Fly insofar as the ejection seat cartridges installed in the aircraft had passed their expiry date. The maintenance organisation had ordered new cartridges in January 2014, but they did not arrive until June 2015 (two months before the accident) and the maintainer decided to fit them at the aircraft's next annual inspection in February 2016. The maintainer stated it was acting under the privileges of its maintenance approvals. The CAA was reported to be of the view that the maintainer did not have such privilege.
An issue of compliance with a Mandatory Permit Directive (MPD) in relation to time between engine overhauls raised questions as to whether the aircraft's Permit to Fly was valid on the day that it was issued. The CAA stated that it was unclear whether an Alternative Means of Compliance (AMOC) was in effect at the time for the accident aircraft, which would mean the Permit to Fly was valid. According to the AAIB's second interim report, "On this basis [the CAA] could not determine if the aircraft met the requirements of its Permit to Fly from December 2014 onwards." The second Special Bulletin made seven safety recommendations.