A pilot whose fighter jet left 11 people dead at a British air show in 2015 has reportedly applied to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to have his license to fly aircraft reinstated.
According to The Sun, former Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Airways pilot Andrew Hill is expected to hear whether his application has been successful at the start of 2024.
On August 22, 2015, the pilot was flying a 1950s Hawker Hunter at the Shoreham Airshow in front of crowds when a loop maneuver failed, and the jet crashed into a nearby highway.
The fighter jet burst into flames on impact and destroyed eight cars on the highway. Some of the victims were in vehicles at the time while others were there watching the air show.
The Hawker Hunter broke into four sections during the crash but somehow Hill survived.
After the pilot was charged with the deaths of the 11 men, he was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter at a criminal trial in 2019.
At an inquest in 2022, a coroner found that the victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster were unlawfully killed. The coroner described Hill’s flying as “exceptionally bad”.
“The aircraft failed to reach the height required by a significant margin,” the coroner said. “This was not a small misjudgment.”
The coroner added: “It should have been clear and obvious he was too low.”
Earlier in 2023 a request by Hill to review the inquest’s decision was rejected.
News that Hill had applied to have his pilot’s license reinstated came to light during the making of a television documentary called ‘Fatal Flight: Shoreham’.
According to media reports the families of the deceased “feel extremely strongly” that Hill should never have his pilot’s license reinstated.
#Shoreham Air Show plane crash: Police confirm seven people are dead and more than 14 injured http://t.co/8U1a3Kf2jG pic.twitter.com/WQZCrR86PT
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 22, 2015
“He shouldn’t be anywhere near a cockpit,” a family member said.
The Shoreham Airshow has not been held since the disaster in 2015.
