Inquest into Shoreham airshow deaths delayed until 2022

The inquest into the deaths of 11 men who died in the Shoreham Airshow crash has been postponed from October 2021 to next year.

Eleven local men were killed when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed onto the A27 near Shoreham Airport on 22 August 2015.

Eleven local men were killed when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed onto the A27 in 2015.

West Sussex County Council says the delay is after the Coroner applied to the High Court for permission to access material from the criminal trial.

It is not the first time the inquest has been delayed. It was due to take place in September 2020, but was pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now due to pressures on the High Court, the Coroner has provisionally secured a new date from Monday 7 February 2022 – Friday 18 March 2022.



The 11 men who died in the air crash, whose families have been informed of the delay, were:

  • Maurice Rex Abrahams, 76 of Brighton

  • Dylan Archer, 42 of Brighton

  • Anthony David Brightwell, 53 of Hove

  • Matthew Grimstone, 23 of Brighton

  • Matthew Wesley Jones, 24 of Littlehampton

  • James Graham Mallinson, 72 of Newick

  • Daniele Gaetano Polito, 23 of Goring-by-Sea

  • Mark Alexander Reeves, 53 of Seaford

  • Jacob Henry Schilt, 23 of Brighton

  • Richard Jonathan Smith, 26 of Hove

  • Mark James Trussler, 54 of Worthing


West Sussex Senior Coroner, Penelope Schofield, said: “It is with regret that I have had to further postpone the inquest due to take place in October this year.

"However, it is not possible to continue with the inquest until the outcome of my application to the High Court is known."