TRAGEDY HITS AIR SHOW-BUT DISPLAYS GO ON

FOLLOWING the tragic death of a pilot, whose vintage Hurricane aircraft crashed into a field during Shoreham Airshow on Saturday, police have appealed for anyone with amateur video coverage of the incident to contact them.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Sep 2007, 18:29 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:24 BST

They believe footage could help experts work out what caused the plane to come down north of the A27 near Lancing College, killing experienced pilot Brian Brown (49) of Doncaster, Yorkshire.

The Hurricane,thought to be one of only 12 remaining aircraft of its kind in the country, had been taking part in a Battle of Britain dogfight display, when it was seen to peel off sharply to the left, losing height at about 3.20pm.

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Because of the numbers of other aircraft taking part in the display, many of the 20,000 crowd were unaware of what had happened until a plume of black smoke rose into the sky and commentator Peter Eager announced the tragedy over the Tannoy.

Five Spitfires, two Hurri-canes and two Messerschmitts had been taking part in the mock German attack on a Second World War airfield, defended by the RAF, when Mr Brown's plane went down.

Other pilots in the display flew over the airport in 'pilot missing' formation.

Flying was suspended for 30 minutes after the crash. The show then resumed because pilots felt Mr Brown would have wanted it to continue and organisers believed most of the crowd also wanted it to go on.

For full story, show report and many show pictures, see West Sussex Gazette September 19

Related topics:A27Yorkshire