A plane taking part in the Shoreham airshow in Brighton, UK, crashed on Saturday, August 22. The plane hit several cars on the A27 roust near Shoreham Airport, according to police in Sussex, who advised drivers to avoid the area. A number of people were injured in the crash, but their condition was unknown. Credit: Twitter/Charlie Lear
LONDON (AP) — A military jet taking part in a British airshow crashed into a busy main road, killing seven people and injuring more than a dozen others, police said Saturday.
The Hawker Hunter fighter jet, which was participating in the Shoreham Airshow near Brighton in southern England, hit several vehicles on a nearby road as it crashed Saturday afternoon. Witnesses told local TV that the jet appeared to have crashed when it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver.
West Sussex Police said seven died at the scene and one patient with life-threatening injuries was taken to the hospital. A further 14 people were treated for minor injuries.
News video and photographs showed a fireball erupting near trees and huge plumes of thick black smoke rising. A witness, Stephen Jones, told the BBC that the pilot had just begun his 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. And he flew straight into the ground either on or very close to the A27, which runs past the airport," Jones said.
The force said all the casualties were believed to have occurred on the road, and no one on the airfield was believed injured. It was not known whether the pilot was able to eject.
The road was closed in both directions Saturday.
Crashes at British airshows are rare, but in 2007 the pilot of a World War II Hurricane died at the Shoreham Airshow after performing an unplanned barrel-roll.
| Date: | 22-AUG-2015 |
| Time: | ca 13:15 LT |
| Type: |  Hawker Hunter T.Mk 7 |
| Owner/operator: | Canfield Hunter Ltd. |
| Registration: | G-BXFI |
| C/n / msn: | 41H-670815 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 11 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | near Shoreham Airport (ESH/EGKA) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | Shoreham Airport (ESH/EGKA) |
| Shoreham Airport (ESH/EGKA) |
A Hawker Hunter jet impacted the A27 road during a loop in a display flight at the Shoreham Airshow, U.K.
Four cars were reportedly hit by the aircraft.
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that there has been seven fatalities declared at the scene, one patient with serious life-threatening injuries has been transported to Royal Sussex County Hospital and further 14 patients treated for minor injuries.
Preliminary reports suggest the pilot was pulled from the wreckage and has survived the accident.
The only Hunter listed in the Shoreham Airshow display program was Hawker Hunter T Mk.7 G-BXFI (carrying military markings WV372).
Sources:
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=178886 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34027260
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/22/hawker-hunter-plane-crash-shoreham-air-show-reports
http://www.fradu-hunters.co.uk/fraduhnt/877wv372.html
https://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34034430
"Hawker Hunter T.7, Private JP7180533" by Aldo Bidini - Gallery page http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7180533 Photo http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/4/3/1/8/85085_1312747813.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.
