Reply With QuoteFingers crossed not too many hurt!
A Hawker Hunter fighter jet has reportedly crashed into several cars on the A27, resulting in several casualties.
The plane was taking part in the Shoreham air show in Brighton when it crashed into four cars that were westbound on the A27, Airlive.net reported.
Sussex Police said there are several casualities, but do not know how many or what condition they are in. Other reports suggested that cyclists had been killed but the pilot had survived.
It looks bad, only hope the casualties are limited. :-(
https://youtu.be/pvHplYmh2f8
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Fingers crossed not too many hurt!
I sincerely hope nobody got hurt, but I am afraid not everybody got away in time....
That looks terrible,hopefully not too many casualties,although from that, it looks ike there will be.:-(
There will be fatalities there unfortunately. Very sad.Originally Posted by MarkB
That's horrible. To my, very inexpert, eye...he looks low to begin with, but did gain altitude to compensate. Perhaps it was a form of power stall in the recovery was the cause of his inability to complete the manoeuvre?
Why was he over a main road in the first place?
My condolences to all involved and no slight intended on what must have been an experienced pilot, with friends and family.
Edit: My disrespects, in anticipation (hope I'm wrong) to the media who will feast on this with supposition and speculation.
My respect to the AAIB who will investigate and come up with some real answers.
Finally, it there any form of flight recorder on private aircraft such as this? I suspect not. Pilot input plus instrument and engine records will be of particular interest to the investigation.
Last edited by PickleB; 22nd August 2015 at 16:03.
Looks bad indeed....I'm not a pilot but I wonder if he started the loop too low for the weather conditions ie hot weather means the engine is less efficient. Pure conjecture and will be interesting to see the AAIB report.
Shoreham is not that big an airfield.Ive been to an air show there before and the Hunter,Vampire Etc all scoot about over the main roads as they run right next to the airfield. They cant avoid them.
Thoughts go out to the dead & injured.
Just awful. BBC reporting seven dead.
Sad thing to see happen, he does look low to start the manoeuvre, will be interesting to see what the top gate limits were for that manoeuvre.
Truly awful.
We are due to be there tomorrow.
Both the DM and the BBC identify the aircraft as a Hawker Hunter T mark 7. That's very precise and probably from the Shoreham air display site and it's presumably T for trainer. Then both talk about a single seat jet, despite the site identifying it as "a two seat development of the F Mk 4 (link)." So much for journalistic research...
Very tragic indeed. An airshow i go to each year and a road I'm on every day. Must have been horrific to see that coming down. Thoughts to all those involved.
Tragic news :-(
Sorry, but that kind of air acrobatics shouldn't be allowed over spectators or even near a built up area... I remember seeing the like in Ramstein, Germany...
I love aircraft and aviation, but putting them to show, safety should go first.
Now you can hit me ;-)
I lived in Brighton for many years....often used to sit above Lancing College on the hills and watched some of the show....one time I was sat on my Yamaha at those lights at that exact spot as they were red and a Harrier hovered just above us...the thrust rattled and pressed on my chest and ribs...the sensation of power and force was amazing....
Ricardo consulting main offices and workshops are just to the left of the main part of the incident (engine design and development for BMW and other companies) and cars and motorcycles have been damaged as well as the 7 people who have sadly lost their lives...don't know yet if the riders were on their bikes like I was that time or just sat there on side spectating....
very tragic and latest news is they actually pulled the pilot out alive...
Terrible stuff.
They pulled him out of that alive?
I assume he ejected?
According to the press, the pilot "Andy Hill, is believed to have been pulled from the burning wreckage and is now fighting for his life in hospital." Recent reports are referring to him in the present rather than the past tense, as was the case earlier.
Having seen that incredible pic on the news (just seconds before impact) it appeared as if the canopy was intact, so it's unlikely he did, most likely fighting to bring it under control.
Absolutely dreadful news, thoughts are with the friends and families of those involved.
There was clearly no stall there and the aircraft was under full control all the way down. Look at the way the pilot manoeuvres slightly to try to miss the cars at the lights and put it down the emptiest bit of the road before straightening up at the last moment. Having stayed with the aircraft and performed that slight manoeuvre, thus missing the queue of cars at the traffic lights. he decreased his chances of survival in an attempt to minimise casualties on the ground. It looks, to my less than expert eye, that he came over the top too low and possibly too slow and narrowly hit the ground, whether that was error, faulty instruments or a momentary loss of power we will find out eventually. It's human to screw up and machines go wrong, but to try to mitigate that screw up rather than eject or do what is best for yourself demands respect. I think he did did his best.
However ultimately this sort of accident shouldn't happen. There have been three fatal accident in the last few years, two at Shoreham that wouldn't have happened if the respective pilots had had a few hundred more feet to absorb their errors. The human tragedy is chilling and my thoughts go out to the people killed on the A27. This can't happen again.
Last edited by M4tt; 22nd August 2015 at 21:24.
Makes me a little sick inside watching that video. Terrible shame. I'd not heard the latest on the pilot, incredible if he's out alive.
Thoughts with the families of the deceased. As a regular airshow visitor, this really hits home.
:(
Hadn't see the pic...found it on the ITN news site:
Eyewitnesses confirm that the pilot stayed with his aircraft...
That is just terrible news.How tragic and sad.
We went to the beach today a few miles further down and saw the Vulcan do a few fly pasts along the coast around 2pm. Didn't know anything about this inciden until we put the car radio on when coming home. We were on the A27 too at the time(though travelling away from Shoreham), so even more of shock.
Thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the casualties.
Prayers won't help with tragic news, unfortunately.
Having watched the clip, my soul is chilled to the core - my moist sincere sympathy for those who had witnessed such a tragic incident and for those who have sadly lost their lives.
I just can't understand why these planes are doing these manoeuvres anywhere near main roads and spectators. Surely it's possibe to do this all along the Brighton/Hove/Shoreham coastline with the planes over the sea?
I can't either. I have been to loads of air shows and to a degree you accept a risk.
But to be driving along a main road and get hit by a jet doing aerobatics?
That is why the Sunderland air show is held over the sea front. Tragic accident
Doing aerobatics purely for entertainment in old planes that really don't fly that often (and nor do the pilots) but go so fast (you know, compared to anything with a propeller) that if something breaks or the pilot screws up it's going to go very wrong.
Now confirmed: Shoreham air crash: Pilot 'fighting for life'.
Quite agree the A27 is one of the busiest roads in Sussex, completely irresponsible and a tragedy for many families. I was at the football when this came through, thought it may have been a side road it came down in but to find out it was the main road is beyond comprehension. Local police are saying the road will be closed for a couple of days and there may be more bodies found.
Shoreham airshow has been going on for years, it raises lots of money for RAFA. Why didn't you pipe-up before now about how completely irresponsible it was?
I'm off to Heathrow right now with my protest banners, have you seen how many busy roads those airliners cross as they come in from the atlantic? It's disgraceful, they should at least ban all the charter flights carrying holiday makers. Most business flights are unnecessary too, in today's age of video conferencing.
I'm surprised those old boys in WWII ever took off in their Spitfires and Hurricanes, knowing the risks they faced.
What a completely ridiculous argument.
Commercial aeroplanes are not trying to do acrobatics at low level as they try and land at Heathrow. As Foxy said let them do these stunts in safe areas so if they come down it will only be themselves they kill.
I thought it was rather good. After all there are lots of things we all do purely for enjoyment that pose a risk to others. The Shoreham bypass was built long after the airport was established, do you think it was rash to route it under the main runway flighpath?
No praise like self praise I suppose.
You keep bringing up pointless arguments. The jet wasn't on any approach or take off. It was performing aerobatics in an area with no margin for error.
Death toll up to 11...and may still rise.
More amateur footage has emerged; see the Guardian and BBC News websites.
It has now come to light one of the young men killed lived a couple of miles from me, and another two young men played for a local football team that a former team mate of mine manages. This has devastated the local area, and sadly I suspect the news is only going to worsen tomorrow as the authorities continue their searches.
I drove down the same road exactly 1 week before the tragedy with my children in the car. Tragic news. I suspect it was simply an accident, nothing more or less.
I had tickets for yesterday for all the family. We'd planned to go on the Saturday initially. A few people I know we there.
my heart felt sympathies go out to those affected. Hopefully, the numbers don't increase further.
Latest predicted fatality count is 20. Heartbreaking. Talk about wrong place wrong time.
Amazing that the pilot got out alive albeit critical, thoughts go to all those poor families and friends of those affected and witnesses (many kids) who were very close.
Echo earlier comments about hopefully Sunderland Air Show being safer as it's over the sea but no doubt all air shows will be reviewed.
Terriblenews
The final death toll from the Shoreham air crash could rise to 20, Sussex Police say.
Assistant Chief Constable of Sussex Police Steve Barry said: "It's too early to tell but I'd be surprised if [the death toll] doesn't go above 11.
"If it would be below 20 then that would be probably the best estimate that I could give you at this stage."
He said there were cyclists and onlookers in the area at the time of the crash on Saturday.
"It makes it very complicated to establish who was where and who we can actually confirm has been a victim of this crash," he said.
Isn't he basically saying they are struggling to work out how many dead bodies they are dealing with?
Seems so but a fire of aviation fuel plus car petrol tanks on fire would, I imagine, incinerate almost anything. A very unpleasant accident with appalling consequences.
No...he's saying that 11 bodies are being 'dealt with', that people are still missing, that they haven't lifted the wreckage of the plane (and some cars?) yet (that bodies may be in/underneath), that there are injured (including the pilot) in hospital that may yet die and, taking all that into account, a final toll of less than or equal to twenty is the best estimate.
I think I heard on the news that the ejector seat had partially activated (through deliberate action or fire?) and so the emergency services are unsure of it's state and how to move the wreckage safely. Apparently they're doing that today.
There are a few lowlifes popping up (and being named and shamed it must be said on Facebook etc.) because they are asking for their money back from the day or if they had Sunday tickets.... unbelievable really...they won't actually get any of course because it is cancelled under safety grounds so no refunds are due anyway but to actually propose this... ??
Ive been sitting at that area several times and really is chance...friend of a friend suffered shock & smoke inhalation but also could have been killed too bar a few metres...
Credit to shoreham airport cabs who offered free pickups to visitors who had to leave their cars there.. some decent people there...
Last edited by lordloz; 24th August 2015 at 11:54.
As far as I am aware the only person in hospital is the pilot.
The "up to 20" will almost certainly be the 11 already known about along with information about currently missing persons, thought to have been in the area. These numbers will likely be confirmed as the wreckage is removed and the investigation progresses.
Sad times for all concerned.
Regards
Foggy
I see that there are five people listed as missing who may be associated with this tragedy. Those are known off, there may be others...but let's hope not.
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