Shoreham air crash pilot's flying licences formally revoked by aviation body

Eleven men were killed when Mr Hill crashed into the A27 road while performing a manoeuvre at the Shoreham Airshow in 2015

Andrew Hill has been unable to fly in the UK since the crash.
Author: By Anahita Hossein-Pour, PA Published 17th Oct 2024

The pilot involved in the Shoreham Airshow disaster where 11 men died will not get his flying licence back after losing a challenge to aviation chiefs.

Andrew Hill, 60, appealed the bid to revoke his private and commercial permits in a two-day hearing in front of a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) panel in London on October 2 and 3.

But in a letter published by the authority on Thursday, it said it was "appropriate" to uphold the decision.

A CAA spokeswoman said: "Following a public hearing on a challenge by Andrew Hill to a UK Civil Aviation Authority proposal to revoke his pilot and flight radio telephony licences, the Civil Aviation Authority's decision panel has confirmed that proposal and Andrew Hill's licences will now formally be revoked.

"Following the crash at the Shoreham Airshow in 2015 in which 11 people died, Andrew Hill's licences were suspended, and he has been unable to fly in the UK since then.

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

Eleven men were killed when Mr Hill crashed into the A27 road while performing a manoeuvre at the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex on August 22, 2015.

His licence was suspended by the CAA following the incident in a Hawker Hunter plane.

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

West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield ruled at an inquest in December 2022 that his significant errors and "poor" flying led to the 11 men being unlawfully killed.

When it emerged in December last year that Mr Hill wanted to fly again, Anthony Mallinson, whose father Graham, 72, was killed in the Shoreham disaster, told The Sun newspaper it was causing "stress and worry" for the victims' loved ones.

He said: "We all, as a collaborative of families, feel extremely strongly that he never has his pilot's licence reinstated out of respect for all of us, the families and all of our loved ones lost.

"He shouldn't be anywhere near a cockpit."

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