Shoreham (UK) Air Show plane crash: 7 dead and 14 injured after Hawker Hunter smashes into four cars

[forest444]

Source: Telegraph

Plane crashes at air show near Brighton attempting loop.

Large explosion next to school dormitory. Pilot named as Andy Hill, a former RAF Harrier jump-jet pilot. Roads have been closed around the crash area.

Second airshow crash in a month.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11818191/Plane-crashes-at-Shoreham-Air-Show-Live.html

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[Duckhunter935]

1. sad news

airshows can be so exciting but come with danger.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Danger for those on a busy public road, in this case

Sussex police said the aircraft hit four cars on the A27 just north of Shoreham airport, where the Royal Air Forces Association air show was being held.
...
Dom Lawson was driving on the A27 when the jet crashed. “If I’d been 20 seconds faster I would not be having this conversation,” he told the Guardian.

He described how the plane passed just a few metres above his car with a deafening roar before slamming into the ground in a fireball five or six vehicles in front.

Lawson said he saw at least two cars on fire, but added that the incident could have been much worse if traffic lights at a nearby junction had not been red.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/22/hawker-hunter-plane-crash-shoreham-air-show-reports

I'm surprised they're allowed to do stunts right above a busy public place. Video at the link.

[Duckhunter935]

3. They should not be

Over any populated areas. Open fields in from of the audience should be the norm. I wonder if this was supposed to be the case here?

[Plucketeer]

4. You can bet that stunting over the hiway

was not in the script of the performance. But jets travel fast - and if the pilot sensed trouble as he started down the backside of that loop, it's easy to imagine he was totally focused on getting back in control of things. Even if he managed to bring his focus back to the flight path developing, it would've been too late for any course corrections.

People go to air shows to see the daring-doo of those neck-risking aviators. Any "sport" like this pits safety against common sense - car racing - HORSE racing - downhill skiing - base jumping, etc., etc., etc.

Where vintage rare aircraft are concerned, I can see both sides of the argument - flying vs. preservation. One has to remember that EVERYTHING on this planet will one day vaporize back to the basic elements. It's just our fanciful, farcical notions of nostalgia that fuel our desire to keep flying and crashing these old beasts.

Think about that horrible crash at Reno two years ago. The race course was WELL away from the viewing areas - but who could've envisioned that P-51 in distress, arcing up and over and pulverizing itself right where spectators sat? The only way they could've truly been safe is if they'd been watching via CCTV in some fortified bunker. Of course, who would buy a ticket for an experience like that???

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. It's a very small space

Here's the airport the show was at:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?X=519992&Y=104942&A=Y&Z=120&lm=1

The A27 is the divided highway, in green, running east-west, directly north of the (small) airport (each blue square on the map is 1km by 1km, so the runway is about 1km long). The plane appears to have been coming from the north-east, I think.

[Abouttime]

8. No. They should be in museums

There is no good reason to fly an aged aircraft, let alone do dangerous stunts over populated areas in such an aircraft. Like the tragedy at the Reno air races a few years ago this display was reckless.
Antiques belong in a museum, not on the road or in the air. I feel the same about old cars, I'm all for collecting and displaying them but they do not belong on the roads of today.

[Duckhunter935]

9. I disagree

They should be flown and driven safely. Living history.

[Abouttime]

10. What about the victims?

What about the victims who died in this tragic accident? This was an unnecessary tragedy, the pilot and the plane never should have been in the air, let alone doing dangerous stunts over a heavily populated area!
I feel the same way when I see a 6000 lb. relic from the 50s or 60s cruising down the highway, an accident waiting to happen. Drum brakes, no seatbelt or airbags, belching more pollution than 1000 modern cars, these 3 ton hunks of obsolesce spewing waste should be legislated back to the century from which they came. They have no place on modern roads unless they meet today's safety standards, same should go with aircraft. Bring them up to all 2015 standards or leave 'em in the museum so they can be enjoyed by many generations to come, in other words I feel these machines have value beyond just transport, war etc. let's use them in that way not use them in a way that endangers us all.

[Duckhunter935]

11. What about the victims

truly sad and I grieve for the families and the pilot. Those aircraft and vehicles can be very safely operated. Did I ever say they should be doing acrobatic shows, show me where I did. Properly maintained planes and vehicles can operate very safely and be not that much pollution as lawn mowers or weed eaters. Should your vehicle have to be parked in 2016 when the new ones come out? I am sure you have every safety feature on your vehicle and will retire it when a new one is introduced, right? How about the low income people that can not afford the latest vehicle as you say they must or update all of the safety features? I have a 99 pick up that is parked mostly, a 08 smart car and a 04 Harley. should all of them be scrapped or put in a museum as they do not have the features of a 2015 vehicle. I myself do not want a connected car with all of that distracting crap on it.

[Blue_Tires]

12. FWIW, Reno was entirely the pilot/owner's fault

for making untested modifications to the tail for the sake of more speed...

[leftyladyfrommo]

5. Gees. The Blue Angels are flying here right now.

They are so cool.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. .

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Shoreham Airshow crash death toll 'could reach 20'

The death toll of the Shoreham air crash could rise to 20, police have warned.
...
At least 11 people are thought to have died but more bodies are expected to be recovered after the removal of the jet.

Meanwhile, aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority, said it was considering whether air show safety requirements should change.
...
Sussex Police said the crash site is spread over about 400 yards of the A27 and extends to the adjoining airfield. All of those who died are thought to have been on the road.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-34038479