Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Kevin Wood]

During the final stages he had a very high angle of attack and he looked pretty much stalled at impact. I'd say he exited the loop pulling as much G as he dared bit still didn't clear the ground. Possible a flameout or something lost him some energy in the loop?

[henryd]

In this video of the Hunter there is a flash from engine just at top of the loop,there's loads of birds around too so possible bird strike,I can't believe the pilot lived through the impact
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shoreham-airshow-crash-video-show-6302632

[05omegav6]

Typical Mirror sensationalism... 'flash' is merely sunlight catching a pitot probe on the starboard wing.

Apparently the limo was on it's way to collect a bride and groom, so small mercies there

[Lazydocker]

.. 'flash' is merely sunlight catching a pitot probe on the starboard wing.

I'm not so sure    I would have said it was sun glint on the lens.

But I certainly don't think it's proof of engine troubles

[Jimbob]

And another one. A very bad year

http://www.rt.com/news/313146-switzerland-airshow-plane-crash/

[Lazydocker]

Indeed. Just like Motorsport though, it is a dangerous pastime and accidents happen.

Very sad though. The Shoreham crash has really hit me quite hard and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because we had planned to go. Perhaps because I know the area. I don't know

[05omegav6]

Indeed. Just like Motorsport though, it is a dangerous pastime and accidents happen.

Very sad though. The Shoreham crash has really hit me quite hard and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because we had planned to go. Perhaps because I know the area. I don't know

Possibly the familiarity of the site... I cannot count the number of times I have driven over that junction

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I see the usual array of educated idiots crawled out from under their stones to give the nation the benefit of their wisdom on TV news last night and this morning. The general "wisdom" was that this type of event should now be banned unless it can be staged over the sea, with the public watching at a safe distance from the beach.
They would like to remove all element of risk from life. We might l live a little longer in that scenario, but it would seem like we had lived a hell of  lot longer, as life would be unbearably tedious.
It was a terrible tragedy, but apparently its the first time it has happened in this country for many decades. Hopefully it will be even longer, (if ever) before it happens again.

[Kevin Wood]

Indeed. Not so many years back that crash could have happened into the crowd, and such incidents did happen from time to time. You can't display an aircraft without the extended trajectory sometimes intersecting a member of the public. That it's as rare as it is is safety enough, IMHO.

[Rods2]

I think this accident has hit all of us hard where it has involved innocent people going about their personal business, a bit like the helicopter crash in Vauxhall a few years a go.

What might be a sensible thing to do is use bigger airfields for airshows and/or a low population, quiet road area adjacent to the airfield, so all aerobatics can be performed within the confines of the airfield / low population areas. This is how things are pretty much performed at Farnborough and since 1953, always on the non-crowd part of the airfield. Yes, they do fly outside of the confines of the airfield, but don't do aerobatics whilst doing so. I know at Farnborough that all displays have to be approved by an experience team who vet them and they also have the authority (which is used and was during a trade day a few years a go) to call a halt to any display at anytime if the pilot is deemed to be acting dangerously by making mistake(s), acting recklessly or if he departs from his approved flying program. When a display is halted, he is ordered to stop and land, no questions, no ifs, no buts! The reasons why are discussed afterwards. Does anybody know if all other airshows have the same high standards?

Having said that, pilots are human and will make mistakes and they are essentially showing off and there will also be other issues at times from equipment failures to bird strikes. Yes, make them safer, but like many dangerous things we humans do, no they shouldn't be banned. Sadly, the most dangerous thing we all do is travelling around and in the UK it kills 1 in 200 of us in our lifetimes, in many other countries it is much higher.

[Lazydocker]

Indeed. Just like Motorsport though, it is a dangerous pastime and accidents happen.

Very sad though. The Shoreham crash has really hit me quite hard and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because we had planned to go. Perhaps because I know the area. I don't know

Possibly the familiarity of the site... I cannot count the number of times I have driven over that junction

Could be. We were supposed to have gone for the air show this weekend... Dad's office on the airfield means priority tickets when they are released. Only reason we didn't is because both U.S. and them were too busy to commit.

I see the usual array of educated idiots crawled out from under their stones to give the nation the benefit of their wisdom on TV news last night and this morning. The general "wisdom" was that this type of event should now be banned unless it can be staged over the sea, with the public watching at a safe distance from the beach.
They would like to remove all element of risk from life. We might l live a little longer in that scenario, but it would seem like we had lived a hell of  lot longer, as life would be unbearably tedious.
It was a terrible tragedy, but apparently its the first time it has happened in this country for many decades. Hopefully it will be even longer, (if ever) before it happens again.

All these "experts" make me sick.... This accident was a freak occurrence. The pilot concerned is very highly skilled and I still maintain that he seems to have stayed at the controls despite the obvious issues, possibly to,avoid the queuing traffic. I just hope that they manage to get to the bottom of this for the sake of the families involved. From pictures I have seen, it looks like he hit one car (a Corsa) and this is what caused the airframe to break apart.

Daily Fail websites is amusing though... They've got all,the history of the aircraft and note that it is a 2 seat trainer version yet in the same article refer to it as a single seater!

[Kevin Wood]

Daily Fail websites is amusing though... They've got all,the history of the aircraft and note that it is a 2 seat trainer version yet in the same article refer to it as a single seater!

I've learnt from bitter experience that you can be as careful as you like briefing the press about an event, give them only the simple, basic, impossible-to-misinterpret facts and explain them over and over again. Every time, they are regurgitated with a sizeable dollop of bullshit added.

Aviation is, unfortunately, an area where they are particularly clueless.

Maybe we should look at restricting airshows to the larger airfields, and Rods2 ponders, but, even Farnborough has a load of offices on the crowd-free side of the airfield now. Where we once had prudence in developing too close to an airfield, we now see every acre of space as ripe for development.

Airshows are also really pulling in the punters in a big way these days, and there are only so many weekend days in each summer.

[Lazydocker]

Unfortunately Shoreham Airfield is slightly too far inland for the option of the display over the sea being viable. People attend air shows to see aircraft doing amazing things close up, much like Motorsport, cycle racing, marathons etc...

As for the press

[78bex]

G-HURR Huricane was lost at this show a few years ago 

Very sad for all concerned

More footage from the hills, with an eye witness account from the camera man in the description   https://youtu.be/9Jh8JN42kf8

[Rods2]

Sadly death toll now 11 and may rise further. It must have been instant for the poor people in several cars where it sliced off the roofs.