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Shoreham Airshow crash: Pilot Andrew Hill to be questioned

Andrew Hill was critically injured by the crash

Kashmira Gander
Thursday 10 September 2015 18:38 EDT
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A policeman looks to the A27 road near where the Hawker Hunter fighter jet crashed
A policeman looks to the A27 road near where the Hawker Hunter fighter jet crashed (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

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Police officers and crash investigators are to question the pilot who crashed a jet at the Shoreham Air Show, killing 11 people.

Andrew Hill, 51, was attempting to perform a loop-the-loop manoeuvre during the event in West Sussex on 22 August, when his vintage Hawker Hunter jet ploughed into the A27 road.

He was left fighting for his life following the crash, but his condition is improving, according to police.

Mr Hill was reportedly released from an unnamed specialist hospital.

However, Sussex Police spokesman said that while he faces questioning “as soon as possible”, the force cannot reveal his location without his family’s permission.

The disaster raised questions about the safety of air shows and prompted changes to the organisation of similar events in the UK.

An interim report into the crash found ”no abnormal indications“ with the flight prior to the incident.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators also said cockpit cameras showed that the 1950s jet ”appeared to be responding to the pilot's control inputs“.

An inquest into the deaths of the 11 victims opened and adjourned last week by West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield.

Those who were killed included wedding chauffeur Maurice Abrahams 76, from Brighton; retired engineer James Graham Mallinson, 72, from Newick, near Lewes; and window cleaner and general builder Mark Trussler, 54, from Worthing.

Dylan Archer, 42, from Brighton, and Richard Smith, 26, from Hove, who had set out on a bike ride on the day of crash, also died when the plane came down. Tony Brightwell, 53, and NHS manager from Hove; grandfather Mark Reeves, 53, from Seaford; Worthing United footballers Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23; personal trainer Matt Jones, 24; and Daniele Polito, 23, from Worthing also perished in the crash.

A pre-inquest review will take place on 22 March.

Additional reporting by PA

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