Eleven men who died in Shoreham Airshow plane crash were ‘unlawfully killed’

(Top row left to right) Matthew Grimstone, Matt Jones, Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell and Mark Trussler. (Bottom row left to right) Dylan Archer, Richard Smith, Graham Mallinson, Maurice Abrahams and Daniele Polito, who died in the Shoreham Airshow crash. (Picture: PA)

The eleven men who died when a plane crashed at the Shoreham Airshow were unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled.

A Hawker Hunter aircraft crashed onto the A27 during an aerial display at the event in West Sussex onin August, 2015.

The conclusion was reached on Tuesday afternoon, more than seven years after the incident, which injured 13 other people including the pilot, Andrew Hill.

West Sussex Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield said: ‘Eleven innocent lives were cruelly lost, lives that were cut too short.

‘This huge loss will be borne by their families for the rest of their lives.’

Eleven men were killed in the plane crash in 2015 (Picture: PA)

Andrew Hill was performing a stunt in a 1950s Hawker Hunter before it plummeted onto the A27 in West Sussex (Picture: PA)

‘It has been a long journey, some seven years for you, to get the answers you wanted.

‘It has been a difficult journey getting to this stage. I hope you feel that through these proceedings, you now have a voice.’

A number of the victims’ family members were present and were in tears as the conclusion was delivered at County Hall in Horsham.

Mr Hill was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence but found not guilty on all counts in March 2019.

He maintains he has no recollection of the crash.

He was not called as a witness, having submitted evidence to the investigation.

Mr Hill’s request at the pre-inquest review in September for Ms Schofield to rule out a verdict of unlawful killing was denied.

The 11 victims were Anthony Brightwell, 53, from Hove; Daniele Polito, 23, from Goring-by-Sea; Dylan Archer, 42, from Brighton; Jacob Schilt, 23, from Brighton; James Mallinson, 72, from Newick; Mark Reeves, 53, from Seaford; Mark Trussler, 54, from Worthing; Matthew Grimstone, 23, from Brighton; Matthew Jones, 24, from Littlehampton; Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton; and Richard Smith, 26, from Hove.

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The crash happened in 2015.