UK AAIB special bulletin on the Saturday 22 August 2015, Hawker Hunter crash near Shoreham Airport, West Sussex, UK . The aircraft wa...
UK AAIB special bulletin on the Saturday 22 August 2015, Hawker Hunter crash near Shoreham Airport, West Sussex, UK.
The aircraft was taking part in an air display at Shoreham Airport during which it conducted a manoeuvre with both a vertical and rolling component, at the apex of which it was inverted.
Following the subsequent descent, the aircraft did not achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27.
History of flight
The Hawker Hunter aircraft was scheduled to carry out a display of aerobatic manoeuvres at the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) airshow at Shoreham Airport in West Sussex.
The pilot had flown his light aircraft to North Weald Airfield in Essex where the Hunter was based. The Daily Inspection, valid for 24 hours, had been carried out the previous afternoon by an engineer and on the day of the flight the pilot carried out a pre-flight inspection and signed the aircraft Technical Log.
There were no reported defects. He requested the aircraft to be refuelled to full and this was carried out by the two ground crew. The pilot was described as being in good spirits and looking forward to the flight.
The weather was good and, at the time of departure from North Weald, the nearest recorded actual weather was at Stansted Airport with a surface wind 150° at 14 kt, no cloud below 5,000 ft, visibility more than 10 km, temperature 28°C, dewpoint 16°C.
When all preparations were complete, the pilot occupied the left seat and secured his harness before putting on his helmet. The engine start was normal and the aircraft took off from Runway 02, which had a downslope, with a tail wind of approximately 8 kt. The takeoff run was longer than usual, probably due to the ambient conditions and, once airborne, the aircraft flew to Shoreham.
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. At 1220 hrs Shoreham Airport reported that the wind was from 120° at 12 kt, with no significant cloud and visibility of more than 10 km. The surface temperature was 24° C, dew point 17°C.
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. 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 turn2 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 manoeuvre with both a vertical component and roll to the left, becoming almost fully inverted at the apex of the manoeuvre 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.
Pilot’s qualification and experience
The pilot had received flying training in the Royal Air Force and had served as an instructor and fast jet pilot before entering commercial aviation. He held a European Union Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL) which was valid for the lifetime of the pilot.An Aircraft Type Rating Exemption (Full) was issued by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) on 27 August 2014 enabling him to fly the Hawker Hunter, Jet Provost Mk 1-5 and Strikemaster aeroplanes, valid until 27 August 2015.
The 51 year old pilot had flying experience for 14,249 hours and held a European Union Class 1 Medical Certificate with no limitations, issued on 20 January 2015 and valid until 31 January 2016. He held a valid Display Authorisation (DA), issued by the UK CAA, to display the Hawker Hunter to a minimum height of 100 ft during flypasts and 500 ft during Standard 3 category aerobatic manoeuvres.
From the pilot’s electronic logbook, it was established that the pilot had flown a total of 40.25 hours in the Hunter since 26 May 2011, of which 9.7 hours had been flown in the last 90 days and 2.1 hours in the last 28 days. He had also flown air displays in other types of aircraft, and the investigation will study his other logbooks for further information.
Aircraft Description
The Hawker Hunter T7 is a single-engine advanced military jet trainer capable of speeds close to the speed of sound. G-BXFI was built in 1955 as a single-seat aircraft, but subsequently it was modified to a two-seat trainer in 1959. Both pilot positions were fitted with ejection seats. It remained in military service until 1997, when it was transferred to the civilian register. It was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Avon Mk 122 turbojet engine.The aircraft was operated on a CAA-issued Permit to Fly and its current Certificate of Validity was valid until 10 March 2016.
Accident site and wreckage recovery
The aircraft crashed on to the westbound carriageway of the A27 road near its junction with Old Shoreham Road and Coombes Road, which is close to the northern perimeter of Shoreham Airport.
During the impact sequence, the aircraft struck vehicles and persons around the road junction. Traffic light stanchions, road signs and a crash barrier in the vicinity were also struck.
The ground marks and photographic evidence show that the aircraft struck the road in a nose-high attitude on a magnetic heading of approximately 230°. The first ground contact was made by the lower portion of the jetpipe fairing, approximately 50 m east of the road junction.
During the impact sequence fuel and fuel vapour from the fuel tanks was released and then ignited. The aircraft broke into four main pieces which came to rest close together approximately 243 m from the initial ground contact, in a shallow overgrown depression to the south of the A27.
During the initial part of the impact sequence the jettisonable aircraft canopy was released, landing in a tree close to the main aircraft wreckage. During the latter part of the impact sequence, both the pilot and his seat were thrown clear from the cockpit.
The pilot sustained serious injuries. The investigation continues to determine if the pilot attempted to initiate ejection or if the canopy and pilot’s seat were liberated as a result of impact damage to the cockpit.
Most of the aircraft wreckage has been recovered and transported to the AAIB facilities at Farnborough where it will be subject to further detailed examination. Work continues to recover smaller wreckage from the accident site.
Further investigation by the AAIB will examine the aircraft and its maintenance records to determine its condition before the accident. It will also explore the operation of the aircraft, the organisation of the event with regard to public safety, and associated regulatory issues.
Recorded Data
The aircraft was not fitted with a flight recorder and no flight path information was recovered from the aircraft GPS.
The accident flight was recorded by the NATS radar facility at Pease Pottage. The maximum altitude recorded during the final manoeuvre was 2,600 ft amsl (recorded by Heathrow radar), which may not reflect the peak altitude achieved because the radar data was not continuous.
The investigation is analysing audio recordings of air traffic control communications. 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 analysed to help understand the final manoeuvre in more detail and to provide system status information. Initial findings indicate that the minimum air speed of the aircraft was approximately 100 KIAS whilst inverted at the top of the manoeuvre.
The associated audio recording is being analysed for information relating to the aircraft systems.
The AAIB 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 manoeuvres, including flight path and speed.
