Coroner apologises after seven-year wait for inquest into deaths of 11 men at Shoreham Airshow crash
Tap to watch a video report from ITV News Meridian's Tom Savvides on the first day of the full inquest
A coroner has apologised for the seven-year wait for answers endured by the families of 11 men who were killed in the 2015 Shoreham Airshow tragedy.
West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield expressed her “deepest regret” about delays which mean families were left waiting for answers for years.
She also offered her apologies that the ordeal endured by relatives of those who died after the crash on the A27 had been “added to” by delays to the investigation process.
The victims of the disaster died after a plane taking part in an aerial display in August 2015 crashed on to the nearby A27 in West Sussex in the UK’s deadliest airshow incident for 50 years.
A further 13 people were injured in the incident.
Opening the inquest in Horsham on Wednesday, she said,
“On a sunny summer day on 22 August 2015 at around 1.32pm, 11 men were killed and numerous other people suffered significant injuries when a former military Hunter Hawker aircraft laden with fuel doing an aerobatic display at the Shoreham Airshow crashed onto the A27 in the most horrific circumstances.”
She added: “I can only express my deepest regret that the ordeal of all the bereaved has been added to by the time it has taken for these inquests to be heard.
“You have all tolerated a far longer wait for these inquest hearings to commence then I would ever have wished for. I am so sorry you have waited so long.”
The pilot of the Hawker Hunter plane, Andrew Hill, was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence but found not guilty on all counts in March 2019.
He maintains he has no recollection of the crash.
The inquest originally opened on 2 September 2015, but was adjourned in 2018 due to the criminal trial of Mr Hill.
The inquests into the 11 deaths resumed in March 2019 after the trial. Hearings set for September 2020 were adjourned due to the pandemic.
A pre-inquest review was heard on September 1 where senior coroner Ms Schofield said the inquest “would not reinvestigate the crash”, as this evidence had been provided by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The 11 victims were:
Anthony Brightwell, 53, from Hove
Daniele Polito, 23, from Goring-by-Sea
Dylan Archer, 42, from Brighton
Jacob Schilt, 23, from Brighton
James Mallinson, 72, from Newick
Mark Reeves, 53, from Seaford
Mark Trussler, 54, from Worthing
Matthew Grimstone, 23, from Brighton
Matthew Jones, 24, from Littlehampton
Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton
Richard Smith, 26, from Hove
The coroner also apologised to families that the inquest would be unable to reconsider “many matters that remain a concern to them” after the High Court denied an application to include some of the evidence from the criminal trial of Mr Hill, including a cockpit video of the crash.
Mr Hill will not be called as a witness, having submitted evidence to the investigation.
His request at the pre-inquest review for Ms Schofield to rule out a verdict of unlawful killing was denied.
Law firm Stewarts is representing seven of the families who lost loved ones in the disaster.
Sarah Stewart, partner in the aviation department, said: “This is the last step in a long road to justice and truth for the families of those killed in the Shoreham Airshow disaster.
“After seven years, they are finally about to get some answers on how this disaster happened.
“The coroner’s conclusions will not bring their loved ones back, but there will be some solace in the hope that the findings lead to improved safety in the planning of future air shows.”
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