I dodged death in Shoreham disaster that killed my dad… it's a disgrace pilot who caused untold grief wasn't jailed

The Sun

4 hours ago

THE SON of one of the 11 people killed at the Shoreham Air Show has revealed how a twist of fate saved his life.
Ten years ago, Anthony and Graham Mallinson planned to take a father-and-son trip to watch one of their most-loved aircraft fly at the event.
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The day descended into disaster as a Hawker Hunter fighter plane — flown by rogue pilot Andy Hill — plunged from the sky after a botched loop stunt, ploughing into onlookers and cars on and around the A27, ­ killing Graham and 10 others.
But Anthony was delayed from joining his father — missing the crash by minutes — as he was on duty at his local church. It saved his life.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun to mark a decade since the ­ horror, Anthony, 49, said: 'Dad wanted to get down to Shoreham early to set up to take pictures as he knew it would be busy.
'I spoke to him to say I'd have to join him later as I had work for our local church to conduct.
'He went down, set up near the road, and I stayed.
'I never thought in a million years that when I waved to him that morning as he put the stepladder and camera in the car, I'd never see him in this life again.
'The decision to leave later saved my life but sadly my father lost his due to an act of recklessness by a pilot.
'I was on my way down to join him when I heard news of the crash on the radio.
'I even watched the Vulcan he had so dearly wanted to see, do a silent fly-past over the crash site.
'I had no idea at that point my dad had gone.'
Pilot Hill miraculously survived the crash and remarkably dodged prison despite the carnage he caused, having been cleared of 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Today Anthony accused Mr Hill of not allowing the families of victims to grieve as he fought to save his own freedom and even callously tried to reapply for his pilot's licence.
Anthony added: 'Mr Hill has put us through the mill for a decade.
'He brought untold grief to all our families and got off scot free.
'His acquittal at the Old Bailey was absolutely devastating for us all.
'Even up until May last year he was trying to get his pilot's licence back, which was thankfully rejected.
'All of that has meant that no family involved has been allowed to properly grieve.
'Now it feels like, finally, on the tenth anniversary, we can start grieving and think about the legacies of our loved ones in a positive way.'
The disaster happened on August 22, 2015, as Mr Hill, now 61, attempted a loop manoeuvre 200ft above the air show in West Sussex.
Experts said he should have been ­flying at 500ft or above.
His vintage jet broke into four parts as it crashed onto the busy dual carriageway, destroying eight vehicles.
Smoke billowing
A wedding limo driver and two Worthing United FC footballers were among those to die, while 16 people were injured.
Mr Hill, a former RAF instructor and BA pilot, was badly hurt as he was thrown clear but eventually emerged from a coma.
Four years later, he was cleared of manslaughter after he blamed the effects of G-force on his brain.
However, an inquest into the deaths of the 11, including former engineer Graham, 72, determined the victims had been unlawfully killed.
Mr Hill's application for a review of the inquest's decision was rejected in 2023 and in May this year his final legal challenge to get his pilot's licence reinstated was knocked back by the High Court in London.
Recalling the day of the crash, Anthony, from Lewes, East Sussex, said: 'Dad loved steam railways and was an enthusiast of aircraft like the Vulcan bomber and Concorde.
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'We had both enjoyed watching the Vulcan previously and he intended to take pictures of it on the day of August 22 2015.
'He was an engineer, and so he loved the science behind the way the Vulcan was flown and loved getting shots of vintage aircraft flying with a pretty backdrop.
'We were going to go to Shoreham together to get his usual spot near the A27.
"However, I was the warden that day at my local church so I told him I'd join him there.
'He looked content when he packed his things into the car.
'I left my home at 1.15pm not knowing that the disaster would happen five minutes later.
It was terrible. In the days after, I remember thinking there were ten other families going through exactly the same grief and pain that we were.
Anthony Mallinson
'I drove down towards where my dad was positioned and realised the carriageway had been closed.
'I put the radio on and heard that a plane had come down inside the airfield.
'I thought inwardly, 'Thank goodness for that', because I knew my dad was pretty much going to be standing outside the airfield.
'As I got further up the road, I could see all this smoke billowing up and then the radio said the plane had actually crashed onto the road.
'My heart sank, because I knew dad would be on the perimeter outside.
'I pulled off the road.'
Back home, an agonising wait for information about his father followed until police arrived in the middle of the night to reveal the dreadful news of his death.
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His dad's bank card had been found at the scene. In the coming days and weeks it emerged Graham had been struck and tragically killed.
Anthony said: 'It was terrible.
'In the days after, I remember thinking there were ten other families going through exactly the same grief and pain that we were.'
Anthony grew close to others affected by the tragedy as they attended memorials, inquests and Mr Hill's endless court dates and appeals.
He added: 'Everyone had their own way of dealing with the awfulness of the situation but many of us grew close throughout the years after.
'We have great strength in numbers.'
In 2017, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found pilot error caused the crash.
Two years later, Mr Hill, who lives near Sandon, Herts, was cleared of manslaughter after an Old Bailey jury heard he had been cognitively impaired during the flight.
At his court case, Mr Hill claimed he experienced 'cognitive impairment' while at the controls, brought on by hypoxia possibly due to G-force.
Cognitive impairment is a broad term for something that hinders a person's ability to think, learn, remember and make decisions.
Hill was accountable for flying that aircraft. He was in charge. He had a duty of care to those people on the ground below him.
Anthony Mallinson
Anthony said: 'Hill's acquittal at the Old Bailey was absolutely devastating for us all and a travesty of justice.
'Especially after the CPS had put forward such a strong case.
'I feel the jury were blinded by science presented by Hill's defence team.
'Hill was accountable for flying that aircraft.
'He was in charge.
'He had a duty of care to those people on the ground below him.
'When he flew for BA and Virgin, he wouldn't have taken that risk in a jumbo jet with 500 or 700 people onboard.
'So what changes it when you put him in a jet fighter aircraft?
'You should surely follow the same logic: You don't show off, you don't take huge risks.
'He should have been given a jail sentence to give him time to reflect on the ordeals his actions brought on us.'
In 2022 a coroner gave 11 unlawful killing verdicts, blaming Mr Hill's poor flying.
Yet, despite this, last year, Mr Hill applied to the Civil Aviation Authority to reinstate his business and private licences — to the bereaved families' dismay.
The CAA rejected him, noting his refusal to take responsibility, and an application for a judicial review against that decision was denied in May.
Victims' legacies
Anthony said: 'It felt like a big moment having it confirmed that he'll never get in a cockpit again and we just hope now that we can finally start to reflect on my dad and other victims' legacies without thinking about what Hill is going to do next.'
Despite, years of trying to clear his name, Mr Hill offered some words of contrition to the families at one hearing at the end of last year.
Anthony said: 'Some of the families of the victims were sitting there together — we got there before he did — and he was quite shocked to see us.
'In the end, he looked over at all of us and said, 'I should have died in this, not your loved ones'. And you think, 'Was that just trying to impress the panel, or was that sincere and from the heart?'. We will never know.'
Anthony told how he believes Mr Hill should be retried for his actions but that the chance of that happening is highly unlikely due to a lack of appetite from the Crown Prosecution Service.
He said: 'We need to change how cases like this are treated in the future.
'I'm not sure if it was right for him to be tried in front of a jury due to the technicalities in the case.'
On Friday the families will gather for a memorial service at a local church then assemble at the old toll bridge near the crash site at 1.22pm to mark the time the plane came down.
They will also visit the nearby permanent memorial — 11 arches commemorating their loved ones.
Anthony said: 'We have given Dad's arch a railway theme with different locomotive companies named on there, as well as his favourite class of steam locomotive.
'It's a special place.
'We really want to focus on his life now, his legacy and make sure nothing like what happened at Shoreham ten years ago ever happens again.'
THE VICTIMS
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