AAIB Preliminary Report Released From Shoreham Air Show Accident

The Hawker Hunter jet when went down during the Shoreham Air Show last month appears to have been operating normally prior to the accident which fatally injured 11 people on the ground.

According to the AAIB's interim report, two image recording cameras were mounted within the cockpit. One was located on the aft cockpit bulkhead between the two seats, giving a partial view of the pilot and instrument panel, and a view through the cockpit canopy and windscreen.

To date no abnormal indications have been identified. Throughout the flight, the aircraft appeared to be responding to the pilot’s control inputs. The other video camera was mounted at the base of the windscreen, looking over the nose.

Cockpit imagery is being analyzed to help understand the final maneuver in more detail and to provide system status information. Initial findings indicate that the minimum air speed of the aircraft was approximately 100 KIAS while inverted at the top of the maneuver. The associated audio recording is being analyzed for information relating to the aircraft systems.

The AAIB says it has received a large amount of video footage and photographs of the aircraft, many of which were taken in high resolution, from a variety of locations on and around Shoreham Airport. An analysis of the information using photogrammetry techniques will be undertaken to establish the parameters of the aircraft maneuvers, including flight path and speed.

The report indicates that the flight towards Shoreham was uneventful and, having descended to 1,000 ft above mean sea level (amsl) the aircraft carried out a left orbit offshore at Brighton between 2,300 ft and 2,500 ft amsl. The pilot was cleared to commence his display and, remaining offshore, flew along the coast towards the airfield.

The pilot flew parallel to the coast in a gradual descent during part of which he flew inverted. This may have been to check that there were no loose articles in the cockpit before his display.

Having rolled upright and wings level, the descent was continued to 800 ft amsl and a right turn made to line up with the display line to the west of Runway 02/20 at Shoreham (illustrated). The aircraft remained in a gentle right turn with the angle of bank decreasing as it descended to 100 ft amsl and flew along the display line. It commenced a gentle climbing right turn to 1,600 ft amsl, executing a Derry turn to the left and then commenced a descending left turn to 200 ft amsl, approaching the display line at an angle of about 45º. The aircraft then pitched up into a maneuver with both a vertical component and roll to the left, becoming almost fully inverted at the apex of the maneuver at a height of approximately 2,600 ft amsl.

During the descent the aircraft accelerated and the nose was raised but the aircraft did not achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27 at its junction with Old Shoreham Road.

(Images provided by the AAIB)

FMI: Full Interim Report