Tri-Service
Shoreham Disaster Pilot Questioned In Manslaughter Probe
The pilot who crashed a vintage military aircraft at Shoreham, killing 11 people, is being investigated by detectives over possible manslaughter by gross negligence.
Andrew Hill, 52, from Hertfordshire, was flying a Hawker Hunter fighter-bomber when it crashed onto the A27 in West Sussex on August 22 last year.
The crash happened when the 1950s plane failed to pull out of a loop-the-loop manoeuvre during the Shoreham Air Show.
Sussex Police said a High Court hearing will be held this month to decide whether cockpit recorders, footage, expert reports and other material can be released to them.
Mr Hill has been questioned voluntarily under caution by police. West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield has proposed a full inquest in March next year, lasting around eight weeks.
Now it has emerged Mr Hill is being investigated for "possible endangerment pursuant to Article 138 Air Navigation Order 2009 and also manslaughter", according to a writ seen by The Sun newspaper. A Sussex Police spokesman confirmed:
"Detectives investigating the circumstances of the crash of a Hunter fighter jet at Shoreham in August 2015, which killed 11 people, have confirmed that a 52-year-old man was notified in December that he is being investigated for possible endangerment pursuant to Article 138 Air Navigation Order 2009 and also manslaughter by gross negligence."
A special bulletin published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in March said the air show organisers did not know the intended routine of Mr Hill's plane.
This year's Shoreham Air Show has been cancelled out of respect for victims and their families.
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