Safety report released following Shoreham Airshow disaster

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has published a special bulletin following the Shoreham Airshow disaster in August where 11 people were killed.
The Shoreham community paused to remember the victims of the airshow tragedy SUS-150109-174713001The Shoreham community paused to remember the victims of the airshow tragedy SUS-150109-174713001
The Shoreham community paused to remember the victims of the airshow tragedy SUS-150109-174713001

The detailed report, which focuses on the Hawker Hunter T7 G-BXFI model, offers safety recommendations for ex-military aircrafts to follow in order to avoid any future disasters.

This comes just days after police announced that pilot Andy Hill, who flew the jet which crashed onto the A27 at Shoreham, was interviewed by Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team.

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The Air Accidents Investigation Branch states the aircraft conducted a manoeuvre with both a vertical and rolling component, at the apex of which it was inverted.

Following the descent, the aircraft did not achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27.

The report, which was released today (December 21), recommends that vintage aircrafts should be fitted with ‘ejection seats or other pyrotechnic devices’.

It stipulates that the Civil Aviation Authority must review its procedures to ensure that a ‘Permit to Fly-Certificate of Validity’ is valid when it is issued.

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The report also states there are currently no training courses available to maintain the ex-military jet.

It states: “When the aircraft type [Hawker Hunter] was retired from military service the support provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) ceased, limiting the ability of individual civilian organisations operating the type to benefit from worldwide experience.

“The lack of OEM support, and the limited number of aircraft of these types on the civil register, means that there are no training courses available for civilian maintenance personnel to maintain ex-military jet aircraft.”

As a result, the report recommends that ‘the Civil Aviation Authority promote a process for the effective dissemination of ex-military jet aircraft experience and type-specific knowledge between individual maintenance organisations.’

To read the full report, click here

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