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British airshow crash toll could hit 20: police
Highlights
The final death toll from a jet crash at a British airshow could rise to 20, police said Monday before an operation began to recover the plane wreckage.
The final death toll from a jet crash at a British airshow could rise to 20, police said Monday before an operation began to recover the plane wreckage.
Eleven people are so far thought to have been killed in the crash on Saturday, when a vintage Hawker Hunter military jet failed to pull up in time after a loop manoeuvre and ploughed through cars on a busy road.
The crash at the Shoreham Airshow on the southeast English coast created two fireballs that sent thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.
The pilot, experienced aerobatic stunt flyer Andy Hill, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Sussex Police assistant chief constable Steve Barry said the death toll could increase. Seven fatalities have been confirmed so far.
"The number of highly likely dead remains at 11, but may rise. However, we do not expect that figure to be greater than 20, probably fewer," he said.
A crane was to move the plane wreckage later Monday.
"What that will uncover in terms of further recovery work is unknown and it's possible that once the aircraft is moved that we will discover more fatalities," said Barry.
"The plane needs to be made safe. There are issues around fuel in the aircraft still and there is an issue around making sure the ejector seat is still safe," he added.
Hawker Hunter planes were a mainstay of Britain's Royal Air Force in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The jet appeared to wobble slightly and lose height at the bottom of its loop before ploughing across the A27, a major road that runs along England's southeast coast.
Friend and fellow pilot Neil McCarthy said that in Britain, Hill was one of only around six who flies a Hawker Hunter, of which around five remain airworthy.
"He's a great guy to be around; a fantastic, exceptional pilot," he told BBC television.
"What Andy did is exactly what I would expect to see... it looked exactly the way it should be done.
"But so many things can go wrong: there can be bird strikes, engine failure, an engine fire, there could be all sorts."
Steve Andrews was one of the first paramedics in attendance.
"It was a scene of utter devastation. The aircraft was still burning at the time, there were a lot of cars heavily damaged, debris all over.
"Unfortunately there was not a lot we could do for the casualties in the cars."
Two of those killed are ninth-tier Worthing United footballers Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23. Personal trainer Matt Jones, 24, has also been confirmed as among the dead.
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