Shoreham air crash pilot has flying bid rejected

The pilot whose plane crashed at the Shoreham Airshow, killing 11 men, has had his bid to have his licences returned turned down, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.

Andrew Hill was piloting a vintage aircraft that crashed onto the A27 while performing a manoeuvre at the airshow in West Sussex in 2015.

His licence was suspended by the CAA following the incident.

He appealed against the decision but the CAA confirmed on Thursday that his pilot and flight radio telephony licences will "formally be revoked".

In a statement, a CAA spokesperson said: "Following a public hearing on a challenge by Andrew Hill to a UK CAA proposal to revoke his pilot and flight radio telephony licences, the decision panel has confirmed that proposal and Andrew Hill’s licences will now formally be revoked."

Mr Hill, from Sandon in Hertfordshire, has been unable to fly in the UK since 2015 following the incident.

The CAA spokesperson added: "The thoughts of everyone at the UK Civil Aviation Authority remain with those affected by the tragic crash."

Mr Hill was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence, but was found not guilty after a trial in March 2019.

In December 2022, a coroner ruled that his significant errors and “poor” flying of the Hawker Hunter plane led to the 11 men being unlawfully killed.

In a report issued by the CAA, it said that Mr Hill "still seeks to disassociate himself from any meaningful responsibility for the accident", by maintaining that he has “no explanation” for what happened and refers to himself in the third person rather than the first.

The report said these actions by Mr Hill "call into question the applicant’s fitness to hold the relevant licences."

It added: "Suspension of any of the licences is not appropriate, especially in light of the gravity of the errors and their consequences".

Anthony Mallinson's father, Graham, was one of the 11 men killed in the airshow.

He told BBC South East: "We are happy as a family and I'm sure I can speak on behalf of all the other families too.

"It is a huge relief. We never want to see another family go through what we and all the other families went through."

Giovanna Chirico, who lost her fiancé Mark Trussler in the crash, added: "I'm glad [Mr Hill] was refused getting his flying licence back.

"He has continued living his life while we have all continued to this day struggling with the loss of our loved ones.

"This outcome was what we were all hoping for and at least we know for sure now he can't put any other family through what he's put us 11 families through."

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the former MP for East Worthing and Shoreham Tim Loughton wrote: "This is the right outcome on what was a deeply insensitive action by the former pilot.

"It will be some comfort at least to the families of the victims of the Shoreham Air Show tragedy who have been put through so much.

"This must be the closure of more than nine years of grief."

Tom Rutland, the current East Worthing and Shoreham MP, added: "Whilst today’s decision cannot undo the years of grief and upset that the families and our wider community have endured, I hope it provides them with the reassurance they have long needed that Mr Hill will never pilot a plane again."

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