10 years ago, a vintage fighter jet
plummeted down from the sky into one of
the busiest roads in Sussex, killing 11
men. Most of them weren't even watching
the shore air show when they were
engulfed in the fireball. 23-year-old
Jacob Schil and his friend Matthew
Grimston were driving to play in a
football match. They never arrived.
>> It was catastrophic really for all of
us. It's obviously just changed our
lives forever and
it it's a huge reminder every 22nd of
August
because it's
such a public anniversary.
It's destroyed our lives really all this
time later that no one's really accepted
accountability. That does make us very
angry
>> because
>> but not surprised.
>> No,
>> because that isn't the nature of um
institutions.
>> The 1950s jet came smashing down on this
stretch of the A27. A dual carriageway
which runs right next to the airfield at
Shorum. The pilot, Andy Hill, who
survived, had been trying to fly a loop
as part of his display routine, but he
wasn't going fast enough and didn't
reach enough height to be able to pull
out of the maneuver safely. A jury at
the Old Bailey subsequently found him
not guilty of gross negligence
manslaughter, although a coroner ruled
the 11 men had been unlawfully killed.
The rules around air shows have been
tightened up since the crash with
stricter risk assessments, minimum
height requirements, and checks on
pilots, but both Jacob and Matthews
families believe the regulator, the
Civil Aviation Authority, still isn't
doing enough to protect people using the
roads near air shows.
>> It's quite shocking really.
>> It's definitely an afterthought about
third parties.
We we talk about Dxford
um and how they're still flying low over
the M11. That's taken a long time after
2015 if they if they still haven't done
it by now.
[Applause]
Some experts claim the CIA also has
questions to answer about their response
to a previous incident involving Andy
Hill after the organizers of the 2014
Southport Air Show issued an emergency
stop to his display because he flew too
low and too close to the crowd. The air
accident investigations branch later
found that while the CIA had had an
informal discussion with him, no further
action was taken and it wasn't reported.
Retired pilot Steve Coleman says they
had a statutory duty to have done so.
>> You have to ask the question, if the
Southport incident had been
investigated, was Shore less likely or
more likely to have occurred? And I
think there can only be one answer.
>> The CIA told us they did investigate the
Southport incident and regulatory action
was taken. They insist all the
recommendations and safety improvements
in the reviews carried out after the
shore crash were fully implemented and
that air shows continue to be subject to
rigorous oversight to ensure the highest
safety standards. But the families of
those killed still believe much more
should be done.
>> Well, Amanda's here with me and Amanda
so clear from your report there that
families are still obviously upset but
also pretty angry and still want
answers.
>> Well, yes indeed. They've had such a
frustrating difficult time dealing with
all the authorities and institutions
really ever since this happened. I mean
I covered it at the time 10 years ago in
2015. They had a very long wait for the
air accident investigation bureau to
carry out their very um painstaking
investigation into the reasons why what
happened. Then there was a a criminal
trial at which Andy Hill was cleared of
gross negligence manslaughter. Um then
there was a long delay for the coroner's
inquest to be held. Um there were then
proceedings where Andy Hill attempted to
get his license back but then that was
uh rejected. And going forward I think
you can just feel that sense of
frustration that there although there
have been many regulatory changes since
this happened. Um the shorem air show
itself has has never um run again and
many other air shows have in fact closed
down because of the more stringent
regulations now around the distance uh
between a display and the crowds um the
more complicated risk assessments that
have to be carried out. The fact that
air shows have to pay more to the CIA to
try and ensure enforce these uh
regulations with more inspectors and so
on. But there are still these
outstanding questions um the families
have raised for example the case of the
Duxford Air Show where you can't have an
acrobatic performance over the M11
motorway nearby but planes are allowed
to fly um over that motorway at just 200
foot above the road. They think that's
an issue considering what happened at
Shore have been previous cashes where
for example the engine of a plane went
shooting over the motorway there. Um the
CIA have introduced a review um in which
they are now looking at the safety of
bystandards uh in connection with air
shows that was only launched in April
this year. It's not going to report back
until next year. And for the families
after so long, it's just deeply um
infuriating not to have had those
changes made already.
>> Yeah. Yeah. A real insight into what
they've been going through over the last
10 years. Amanda, thanks very much
indeed.