Shoreham Air Crash Trial: Jet Had Been Flying 'Better Than It Had Ever Flown'

A Hawker Hunter jet was "flying better than it had ever flown" in the months before it crashed at Shoreham Air Show, killing 11 people, a court has heard.

The 1950s fighter jet crashed and exploded on the A27 after pilot Andrew Hill attempted a loop-the-loop on 22 August 2015. 

Mr Hill, a former fast jet pilot and trained RAF instructor, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of manslaughter by gross negligence. 

The 54-year-old, of Sandon, Hertfordshire, denies the charges.

Fran Renouf, deputy chief engineer at Weald Aviation, told jurors the aircraft had been in "very good" condition and had a lot of maintenance.

He said: "It was reported it was flying better than it had ever flown and there were really no problems with the aircraft at all.

"We can only judge it by what we see on the ground but reports we had back from the aircrew was that it was a good aircraft to fly."

Senior engineer Mark Jenkins said in a statement he had been "absolutely devastated".

He said that during the preparation on the day Mr Hill had been his "normal" self.

"There was nothing that would cause me concern," Mr Jenkins said.

He described Mr Hill as an "absolute gentleman" and "safety conscious", adding: "He is always professional and always does things by the book. He never cuts corners. I trust him completely."

Video: The jury were shown footage of the jet's crash.

Engineer Charlie Selwyn carried out pre-flight checks in the Hawker jet the day before the air show.

Every time he did a pre-flight check, he would work through a list of checks using a manual, he said.

He told jurors: "I work through the whole list. The first thing I normally do is deal with the parachute because when it is deployed it's left in a mess.

"I check the tyres, check the pressures, check for damage, just a good look over to check everything is all right."

Mr Selwyn said if he had noticed any problems he would have reported it to the chief engineer to inspect.

Chief engineer David Horsefield said in a statement the Hawker first came to Weald Aviation in July 2012.

The trial continues.