The pilot who left 11 men dead when he crashed at the Shoreham air show almost 10 years ago has lost a legal challenge to be able to fly again.
Andrew Hill, known as Andy Hill, was performing a loop in a vintage Hawker Hunter jet aircraft during a display when he crashed on to the A27 in August 2015.
Hill was cleared of manslaughter by a jury at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, in London, in 2019.
But when an inquest into the deaths ended in 2022, the coroner Penelope Schofield concluded that all 11 men had been unlawfully killed.
Hill, 60, has since dropped an attempt to have the inquest verdict overturned and has tried and failed to get his flying licence back.
He appealed to High Court after a decision by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) not to restore his licence.
But the CAA said that it understood that Mr Hill’s application for a judicial review of the decision had been refused.
The BBC said that the Judicial Office had confirmed this, saying that Mr Justice Fordham had refused permission for the review.
The Judicial Office was quoted as saying: “The claimant has not renewed for an oral reconsideration hearing so the matter has been closed.”
The broadcaster also quoted relatives of those who died saying that they were relieved and that justice had been served.
There are concerns that Hill could now try to obtain a flying licence abroad.
The 11 men who died were
- Maurice Abrahams, 76, of Brighton
- Dylan Archer, 42, of Brighton
- Tony Brightwell, 53, of Hove
- Matt Grimstone, 23, of Brighton
- Matt Jones, 24, of Littlehampton
- Graham Mallinson, 72, of Newick
- Daniele Polito, 23, of Goring
- Mark Reeves, 53, of Seaford
- Jacob Schilt, 23, of Brighton
- Richard Smith, 26, of Hove
- Mark Trussler, 54, of Worthing
A wise decision in my opinion, his advanced age, plus how he won’t have flown for 10 years, makes for a compelling reason why he shouldn’t fly again – even before we start talking about the incident that killed those poor people.
If this “cowboy pilot” does manage to get a pilots licence from an overseas country he still shouldn’t be allowed to fly in UK airspace ever again!
Also, to this day he has refused to appoligise.
The only true justice would have been if Hill survived the crash but, on impact, became impaled by a length of metal passing through his mouth and exiting his bottom like a shish kebab, trapping him securely in the cabin. Then, slowly and horrifically painfully being consumed by the slow-burning flames of the wreckage.
That’s a trifle barbaric but at least he would be dead now instead of walking around, very much alive, and trying to get his pilots licence back again. Evidently he was warned several times about his irresponsible actions while flying at air shows.
This is a horrifying insight into your psyche. Consider seeking help, this isn’t a rational or reasonable response.
Well said.
Good grief, this is unhinged.
Can’t really argue with that.
The current decision without a doubt. The arrogance of the man is staggering. I still find it astonishing that he was found not guilty of manslaughter, what was the jury thinking!
The best news I’ve heard all year! He should never fly again!
The arrogance of the man is astounding. What a slap in the face to those poor men and their families that he even applied.
I feel very sorry for the families and friends of the deceased. My daughter in law and our two very young grandchildren were driving over from Hove to see us in Worthing that Saturday when we received a news flash shortly after the horrifying incident. They did not arrive and we began to worry and for two hours we were very distressed until our son rang from Qatar where he was working all was fine and had her from his wife as she was held up by the traffic not being aware of the cause and returned home. I can only imagine the worries and concerns of others in a similar situation. I drive by the site weekly and although the sight has been radically changed due to the new housing development I still have a shudder pass through me every time I drive through the area. I am very pleased the pilot will never be able to fly a plane again, it is a little justice for such a horrendous and stupid stunt. I just hope he can live with himself knowing what he has done.
I saw this guy on tv talking about the day of the disaster and by his
manner you would never guess that he was responsible for 11 deaths !!………….He just seemed worried about losing his licence