2015 Shoreham Airshow crash

On 22 August 2015, a Hawker Hunter T7 aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which killed 31 people.

The aircraft failed to complete a loop manoeuvre and crashed, hitting vehicles on the A27 road adjacent to the airport. The pilot, Andy Hill, was critically injured but survived. All civilian-registered Hawker Hunter aircraft in the United Kingdom were grounded, and restrictions were put in place on civilian vintage jet aircraft displays over land, limiting them to high-level flypasts and banning aerobatic manoeuvres.

The investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the crash resulted from pilot error. In 2018, Hill was charged with eleven counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of endangering an aircraft. He was found not guilty on all counts on 8 March 2019. The organisers of the Shoreham Airshow denied any responsibility for the crash.

An inquest into the deaths of the victims was scheduled to be held in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 30 November 2022, pending the outcome of some procedural issues. In December 2022, the coroner found that the victims were unlawfully killed as their deaths were caused by an incorrect manoeuvre and a series of gross errors. Hill's final appeal for review of the decision not to reinstate his flying licences was denied in May 2025.

After the crash, regulations for airshows were significantly tightened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), increasing costs to organisers to fund the new safety measures to a degree that led to the cancellation of later shows.

Crash

The Hunter commenced its display with a low pass along the runway from south to north, turning for a second pass in the opposite direction. As it neared the airport, it pulled up into an inside loop. This manoeuvre started from a height of 200 feet, which leading aviation expert David Learmount later said "left no room for misjudgement". The loop should have been started at a height of 500 ft and a speed of at least 350 kn, attaining a height of 4000 ft and 150 kn at the top of the loop. Only 2700 ft and 105 kn were achieved from an initial entry speed of 310 kn.

Before it could complete the loop, the aircraft crashed in a nose-high attitude onto the west-bound carriageway of the A27 road. The aircraft broke into four parts on impact: cockpit, left wing and main body, tail, and right wing, destroying several cars in the process. Fuel escaping from the fuel tanks ignited in a large fireball and plume of smoke immediately following the impact. The crash occurred at 13:22 BST (12:22 UTC). The first fire appliance arrived at the scene within 90 seconds of the crash. Footage of the accident was captured by spectators, as well as a dashcam mounted in a car that was travelling towards the crash site.