Hawker Hunter crashed at shoreham airshow

[Paul Harris 5]

Don't know if this has been posted elsewere yet but there are reports that a Hawker hunter has crashed at the Shoreham airshow today

there are reports of many casualties

Paul

[Stevo]

The only reports I can see are many casualties as it crashed into the A27.

Makes me really quite sick when I hear of things like this, my condolences to all concerned.

[Monz]

Not for sensitive viewers, so not embedding the clip.

**LINK**

[Paul Marsh]

Oh, no. Been a dark year for vintage aircraft crashing.

**LINK**

 

 

Edited By Paul Marsh on 22/08/2015 16:22:14

[Stevo]

Im not sure if it would be appropriate to analyse it on here, but that is one horrific crash.

No doubt we will all be sensitive on the matter, and respecting the 7 casualties.

[Colin Leighfield]

So soon after the Gnat crash, and in this case a number of other casualties as well. Very bad news, I feel desperately sorry for the families that will be affected by this.

[Paul Marsh]

Seemed to hit the junction, as you can see the traffic lights and the cars, so some were waiting on the lights, must've been horrific to the survivors caught up.

[Dave Bran]

I AM sure.......It would be insensitively inappropriate. But then so is publishing sensationalist fireball pictures.

Sadly the reports at the time of writing state seven dead, one more with life threatening injuries. No indication of lesser injuries, but the A27 is rarely quiet, esp when an Air Show is on, when people come and watch from every available point outside.

[Monz]

**LINK**

[Piers Bowlan]

A desperately sad and tragic event with so much loss of life and even more injuries. I doubt the A27 will be open tomorrow or indeed the next few days. Could this be the end of vintage jet aerobatic displays in the UK following this horrific crash?

[Stevo]

Rumours are the pilot was pulled out alive.

Not for us to judge, I just feel rather... numb.

[Tony Richardson]

Tragic no other way to describe it. Looks like a stall at the bottom. it just flattened out and sank onto the road, terrible terrible experience for those involved my thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured and their families.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Peter Miller]

There was one still photo on the ITV news showint flying straight and level just about the ground, presumeably still going down in a flat attitude.

[TigerOC]

Video footage seems to indicate that he had an engine problem during the climb because he seemed to fall out of the loop at the top instead of powering through an arc.

Rob

Edited By TigerOC on 22/08/2015 19:02:14

[bigbubba]

Would it be normal to use flaps in a loop?

[Tony F]

Yes but depends on the aircraft. Hunters do it for low level loops.

Tony

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

Express my condolences to all... this is truly tragic ... poor people....

Jo

[Foxfan]

The pictures I saw on the news showed it hitting the ground tail first, like a stall, but it was such a low level shot you couldn't see if it was on the road or not and despite the fireballs and smoke, the aircraft was seen flat in the undergrowth, unbroken and even apparently unburnt, next to and parallel with, the road, so I'm thinking the tail must have hit any cars involved and, horribly, it was they that caused the fire and smoke. I guess it depends which channel's news you watched.

I, too, wondered why the flaps.

I am sure this will lead to a crack down on adventurous aerobatics from jets in particular and aircraft generally if they are not true aerobats.

MrTin

[cymaz]

Shocking for all....heart goes out.

Coverage

 

Edited By cymaz on 22/08/2015 20:00:48

[kc]

Fifty yards either side might have missed all the traffic. Of course it's a horrible scene but when you see the video Cymaz linked then you realise that both BBC and Sky censored the important part - moments before impact and impact. Its the same film but stopped at the imprtant part and then restarted a moment later. Earlier they showed the complete thing I think. Frankly we need to be able to see what happens - however horrible - ( if we want ) just so we know we are being told the truth when the report comes out. Makes you wonder what else they censor.

We may have seen the last of jets at airshows but let's hope not. Bournemouth next week - I wonder if it will go ahead?

[..]

Bournemouth is on now kc, they often share the same weekend as many of the planes display at one & then move on to the other.

Truly an awful scene .

Edited By Justin K. on 22/08/2015 21:06:27

[Monz]

Posted by kc on 22/08/2015 20:27:59:

Fifty yards either side might have missed all the traffic. Of course it's a horrible scene but when you see the video Cymaz linked then you realise that both BBC and Sky censored the important part - moments before impact and impact. Its the same film but stopped at the imprtant part and then restarted a moment later. Earlier they showed the complete thing I think. Frankly we need to be able to see what happens - however horrible - ( if we want ) just so we know we are being told the truth when the report comes out. Makes you wonder what else they censor.

We may have seen the last of jets at airshows but let's hope not. Bournemouth next week - I wonder if it will go ahead?

See video I linked to in post 3.

[Jon H]

Hi Guys

I was at shoreham today and have seen the event numerous times both in videos and my own mind.

I have also seen this display before and he often does a low power slow speed loop with flaps down as part of a graceful start to the display before turning up the wick later on.

Everything I saw says the pilot made a mistake but I do not have all the facts. All I can say is that from the video it can be seen his left wing drops and is picked up before impact. At that moment he had a tailwind pointing almost exactly onto that left wing tip. This could have been a factor. Also, the ground on that side of the airfield rises and this could have been a factor. The fact that the wing was picked up after it dropped suggests the aircraft was controllable. The high angle of attack is symptomatic of a stall but without all the facts its hard to say. I can only give my view point.

A friend took a photo moments before impact and it shows a strong plume from the engine suggesting he had power. Another chap I spoke to says he heard more power applied before impact.

The current information I got from an official at the show was that the pilot had passed away in hospital and there were a further 7 fatalities on the ground. This is only what I heard and is not confirmed.

I was deeply impressed by the respectful reaction of the crowd at the show and the primary concern from everyone (from overheard conversations) was 'is the pilot ok?'.

My sympathies are with the families of those involved and I hope the AAIB investigation is able to shed some light on what went wrong.

[Peter Jenkins]

Posted by kc on 22/08/2015 20:27:59:

Frankly we need to be able to see what happens - however horrible - ( if we want ) just so we know we are being told the truth when the report comes out. Makes you wonder what else they censor.

We may have seen the last of jets at airshows but let's hope not. Bournemouth next week - I wonder if it will go ahead?

kc I don't know what professional skills you have that make you think that you would should be able to view all the evidence from an air crash in order to decide yourself what the cause of the accident was when the highly experienced Air Accident Investigation Branch is carrying out the investigation. You should be deeply ashamed at your comment "Makes you wonder what else they censor?"