Police question Shoreham air show disaster pilot Andy Hill

The 51-year-old is interviewed under caution, four months after vintage jet he was flying crashed on A27.

Shoreham pilot Andy Hill has finally been quizzed by detectives about the air disaster that killed 11 people, police revealed on Friday.

Four months after the fatal crash, the 51-year-old was interviewed under caution in connection to the tragedy when the vintage jet he was flyingcrashed on to the A27.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "Officers from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team have interviewed a 51-year-old man from Hertfordshire in connection with the Hunter jet that crashed on to the A27 at Shoreham in August, killing 11 people.

"The man voluntarily attended an appointment with detectives at a police station in Hertfordshire on Thursday and was interviewed under caution, but not arrested."

Police had come under criticism from the families of the deceased for the delay in interviewing the pilot in the weeks after the deadly August 22 crash.

The former British Airways pilot, from Sandon, near Buntingford in Hertfordshire, was left in a critical condition and was put into an induced coma.

However, after he was discharged from hospital in September he was photographed in public but had still not given police his version of events. Police said they had not confirmed his "fitness for interview."

Paul Rymarz, Detective Chief Inspector of Sussex Police, said: 'The interview of the pilot forms an integral part of the police investigation, but at this time his fitness for interview has not been confirmed."

Mr Hill was in the cockpit of the Hawker Hunter jet when it performed a daring loop-the-loop display in front of hundreds of spectators at an airshow.

Just moments into his display, the 1950s jet plummeted on to the A27 in West Sussex, colliding with vehicles and exploding into a giant fireball.

Eleven people died in the Shoreham Airshow crash on when a vintage Hawker Hunter vintage plane plummeted to the ground on August 22, hitting vehicles travelling on the A27.

A preliminary report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch revealed he had been just 200ft above sea level when he began the manoeuvre which he failed to pull out of, despite his licence only permitting him to perform stunts at a minimum height of 500ft.

A total of 11 people were killed in the horror crash, but incredibly the pilot was thrown from the wreckage alive and spent the following few weeks fighting for his life.

Father-of-two Dylan Archer, aged 42 years, of Brighton, East Sussex, and his friend Richard Smith, aged 26 years, of nearby Hove, both lost their lives in the crash.

Wedding chauffeur Maurice Abrahams, aged 76 years, from Brighton, was driving his Daimler limousine to pick up a bride on her wedding day when the jet hit his car.

 Moments before the Hawker Hunter jet comes down on the A27 during the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex  Photo: Chris Watkins

Matt Jones, a 24-year-old personal trainer, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, died alongside colleague Daniele Polito as they drove back from work, while Worthing United FC players Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both aged 23 years and of Brighton, died while on their way to a home match.

Mark Reeves, aged 53 years, of Seaford, East Sussex, had taken his motorcycle to the edge of the airport to photograph the planes. Tony Brightwell, a 53-year-old aircraft enthusiast who learnt to fly at Shoreham Airport, had cycled to the perimeter of the airport to watch the displays.

Mark Trussler, aged 54 years, of Worthing, West Sussex, was killed after driving his motorbike along the A27 to view the show, while 72-year-old retired engineer Graham Mallinson also lost his life in the tragedy.