Shoreham Airshow tragedy inquest postponed for the third time

The inquest into the deaths of the 11 men who died in the 2015 Shoreham Airshow crash has been postponed again.
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In May last year, the inquest was pushed back by 12 months to June or September, 2021, due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

That delay followed an earlier 12-month postponement in July, 2019, due to question marks over a potential investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

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Now West Sussex County Council has announced the inquest will not take place until next year after Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield applied to the High Court for permission to access protected material from the criminal trial.

The memorial arches on the River Adur were installed as a lasting memorial to the 11 men who lost their lives in the Shoreham Airshow tragedy. SUS-191125-152051001The memorial arches on the River Adur were installed as a lasting memorial to the 11 men who lost their lives in the Shoreham Airshow tragedy. SUS-191125-152051001
The memorial arches on the River Adur were installed as a lasting memorial to the 11 men who lost their lives in the Shoreham Airshow tragedy. SUS-191125-152051001

Due to pressures on the High Court, a hearing will not take place until the autumn of this year, after which a decision can be made.

Ms Schofield has provisionally secured a new date for the inquest, from Monday, February 7 to Friday, March 18, 2022.

The victims’ families have been informed.

Ms Schofield said: “It is with regret that I have had to further postpone the inquest due to take place in October this year. However, it is not possible to continue with the inquest until the outcome of my application to the High Court is known.”

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The 11 men who died in the air crash, when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed during a display at the Shoreham Airshow on Saturday, August 22, 2015, were:

- Maurice Rex Abrahams, 76 of Brighton

- Dylan Archer, 42 of Brighton

- Anthony David Brightwell, 53 of Hove

- Matthew Grimstone, 23 of Brighton

- Matthew Wesley Jones, 24 of Littlehampton

- James Graham Mallinson, 72 of Newick

- Daniele Gaetano Polito, 23 of Goring-by-Sea

- Mark Alexander Reeves, 53 of Seaford

- Jacob Henry Schilt, 23 of Brighton

- Richard Jonathan Smith, 26 of Hove

- Mark James Trussler, 54 of Worthing