Shoreham Airshow crash families say bosses have 'blood on hands' 10 years on

Shoreham disaster families today claimed airshow authorities had "blood on their hands" as they demanded: "Never let this happen again."

Loved ones will mark the 10-year anniversary of the tragedywhich saw eleven men die when a Hawker Hunter jet - piloted by Andrew Hill - ploughed into the A27 during a display at the Shoreham Airshow on Saturday, August 22 in 2015. A further 13 people were injured in the deadliest air show incident in the UK for more than 50 years.

But now, a decade after the disaster, victims' families revealed they were yet to receive an apology from Mr Hill, who a coronerblamed for the tragedy. And they said the Civil Aviation Authority had missed opportunities to prevent the disaster.

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Anthony Mallinson, who lost his father, retired engineer James Graham Mallinson, 72, in the disaster, said: "They've got blood on their hands in this, because of what they should or shouldn’t have done. It would just be nice for the present committee to acknowledge that.

“I know I’m knocking my head against a brick wall because it will never happen. They just have swerved it, in my opinion. I just want them to show some responsibility and accountability and that things could have actually been improved at the time. All they will do is swerve it by saying this is what we’re doing now, but they haven’t taken the responsibility, taking their part in being accountable.”

And Caroline Schilt, 64, whose son Jacob, 23, was killed in the inferno as he travelled to play football with his friend Matthew Grimstone, 23, said: “Hill has never apologised. And it’s that’s the thing that’s flabbergasted me, it is his whole attitude. I can’t comprehend it at all. There’s been enough time when he’s seen us at close quarters and yet he sort of blanked us out of it, blocked us out.

“I think he’s kind of depersonalised us as if we’re not people, not people with feelings. That’s how I feel about him. And also, he has always made me feel as though he thinks we’re in the wrong and we’re persecuting him by not letting him have his license back, trying to block him. It’s like we’re in the wrong.”

Former British Airways pilot Mr Hill was attempting a loop manoeuvre in the vintage jet when he crashed on the A27 in West Sussex. The 1950s aircraft broke into four parts, destroying eight vehicles on the dual carriageway in West Sussex.

Mr Hill, 60, of Sandon, Herts, survived after being thrown clear but spent a week in an induced coma. In its final report on the disaster, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) listed a series of failings including poor risk assessments.

The AAIB criticised risk assessments which did not adequately protect people in areas "outside the control of the organisers". And the report said the risk assessment "was not suitable and sufficient to manage the risks to the public".It also said the CAA was not required to see or approve risk assessments before issuing a permission to hold a flying display. The AAIB made 31 safety recommendations for the CAA and one for the government.

In 2022, a coroner ruled all 11 who died were unlawfully killed and blamed Mr Hill's poor flying. But he was cleared of 11 counts of gross negligence manslaughter charges during a trial at the Old Bailey. The jury acquitted him of 11 counts of manslaughter after hearing he was cognitively impaired during the flight.

It emerged that the year before the disaster, Mr Hill flouted CAA rules banning pilots from flying over Lancing College as he performed at Shoreham. During a practice run at Duxford in 2014, he flew just 200ft over the M11 - 300ft below the minimum level.

And in the same year at the Southport airshow, Mr Hill was given a rare "stop" call from air traffic control for flying just 75ft above spectators. He was interviewed by the CAA and put on a "watch list". Mr Hill blamed the error on cloud and "goldfish bowl" conditions.

It meant Mr Hill retained his flying licence and was free to pilot the Hawker Hunter jet when it slammed into the A27 a decade ago. Now the families who lost their lives say they are still picking up the pieces of the devastating tragedy.

Mrs Schilt and her husband Bob, 72, said most of the families will be represented at the memorial on Friday [AUG 22].She said: “Lots of people said they can’t believe it's been ten years. A lot’s happened in those ten years.“When you look back, we’ve had the trial, we’ve had the inquest and it was always stressful and yet, it still feels like yesterday.

“It’s always the lead up that’s the worst. The actual day, you always feel quite very supported by everybody and each other. It’s really the lead up and the thinking about it and the awful realisation that we’re at that time of year again.”

Tributes will be read at a private service and Caroline said the families will also remember everyone else who was touched by the tragedy. She said: “It involves other people who witnessed it, people who’ve been affected as well. We addressed all of them. I think it is important.

“Other people struggle with being together, whereas we sort of got our little nucleus group. We can then try to involve as many as possible.” Caroline said the group almost feels like family now. She said: “Things have grown even more over the years.

“Rather than losing touch with people, we’ve got a stronger bond. It might be a sister rather than the parents or whatever, but it’s every family that is involved.”

Caroline said it is important for the group to remember the other people who still live with the horrors they witnessed on the day. She said: “We had a policeman who came to the anniversary only a couple of years ago.

“He was in tears the whole time and he said he would come again, but I don’t think he could bear to. He gave up his job because of it. He can’t be the only one, there must be a lot of them feeling like that.”

Caroline said she and husband Bob will carry on their anniversary traditions. She said: “We will be there every year. I think the others will be as well. I think we all find that meeting up and then having lunch afterwards therapeutic."

Earlier this year, a last-ditch bid for a judicial review by Mr Hill to regain his flying licence was refused. Mr Hill appealed against the CAA decision not to restore his flying licence - but he was grounded for life after his legal challenge was dismissed.

Caroline said now all the legal avenues are shut off to Mr Hill, she hopes he will no longer have a hold over their lives. She said: "As long as he shuts up, he’s got to fade into the background now because he’s been the bane of our lives for ten years. I thought we would have got rid of him ages ago and not needed to think about him, but he pops up all the time.”

Fighting for justice and the need to make sure nothing like Shoreham can ever happen again has kept the families going for ten years, Caroline said. She said: “In a way, it kind of keeps it all going, if you like. It’s almost like, 'What will we do if there isn’t anything to do?'

“What will we do if we haven’t got a battle on our hands? But, it still feels like there’s unfinished business with the CAA. They they’ve never really accepted responsibility. They were partly responsible because they didn’t have their regulations in order at all when the crash happened.

“It’s all very well to say, we put it all all right afterwards, it’s all fine now and we know that it actually isn’t all fine now because there are still things going on. We’re probably never able to make it right because it’s probably impossible to do it, but we can have a good go at it. And I think we are making a difference.”

Mr Mallinson said: “We obviously need to protect members of the public to make sure that this cannot happen again. The ten-year anniversary is a milestone for all of us and we always knew this was going to be a biggie.” Referring to the decision to strip Mr Hill of his flying licence, Anthony said: “I think it’s the end of the road for Hill. He’s never going to fly again.”

Anthony said he would like the CAA to finally admit they were also at fault for the disaster. He said: “We continue to work with the CAA because it shows that we’re trying to improve airshow safety and we want to make sure that this can never happen to another family.

“They say they always have Shoreham in the back of their minds when there are any meetings to discuss airshow safety. We can’t bring any of our loved ones back, but what we can do is be working to strive for better safety in the future.

“And we are at the forefront of that, the families. We have been working with them to ensure that happens. All along with this it’s always been people dodging responsibility, dodging their accountability on it and not taking the responsibility. You know, it’s passing the buck the whole time."

Rob Bishton, Chief Executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: "Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those affected by the Shoreham Airshow crash.

"Following the crash, several investigations and safety reviews were carried out to help prevent similar incidents in the future. This included an immediate review of airshow safety and a full investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. All recommendations and safety improvements from these reviews were fully implemented. Airshows continue to be subject to rigorous oversight to ensure the highest possible safety standards are maintained.”