Shoreham air show plane crash: 'It was like a war zone' say witnesses following accident
'Several casualties' have been confirmed by Sussex Police
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Witnesses have described the scenes at a Sussex air show as being “like a war zone” after an aircraft crashed during a performance in front of hundreds of people.
The Hawker Hunter aircraft crashed onto the A27 outside Brighton at around 1.20pm on Saturday, hitting several cars as it came down, according to a statement from Sussex Police.
Hundreds of people, gathered to enjoy the annual Royal Air Forces Association air show, witnessed the crash.
Tony Wallace, 48 from Shoreham, watched the crash from nearby Mill Hill with his friends and two children.
“The Hunter came from the airport and flew over us and did and loop the loop to go back around to the airport, but at the bottom of the loop it just seemed to lose power and went into the ground belly down in a massive ball of flames,” he told The Independent.
Mr Wallace claimed he watched the plane go down on the A27 near Brighton’s airport, where the show was being held, and added that the road had been “chockablock” all day.
“There’s still plume of smoke, fire engines and a car covered in foam. It looks like a war zone.
“There are around 200 people watching it here and there was a gasp of horror. If the pilot ejected, we didn’t see it,” he said.
Stephen Jones, who was watching the Hawker Hunter T mark 7 display, said the accident occurred at the beginning of the display. "He'd gone up into a loop and as he was coming out of the loop I just thought, you're too low, you're too low, pull up," he told the BBC.
"And he flew straight into the ground either on or very close to the A27, which runs past the airport."
Rhys-Christian, Mobsy, 24, heard a “massive impact” from the garden of his friend’s house just 500m from the impact site near the A27.
“We tried to get close but you couldn’t get close as there was fire and cars everywhere. It looks really bad.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments