Civil Aviation Authority announce restrictions on vintage jets following Shoreham Air Show tragedy

Following the tragedy of the Shoreham Air Show disaster on 22 August 2015, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has made the following statement on their website:

• "as a precaution, on Saturday 22 August we took steps to ensure no further flights were made by Hawker Hunter aircraft - this temporary restriction remains in place;
• flying displays over land by vintage jet aircraft will be significantly restricted until further notice. They will be limited to flypasts, which means ‘high energy’ aerobatics will not be permitted;
• the CAA will conduct additional risk assessments on all forthcoming civil air displays to establish if additional measures should be introduced;
• we commenced a full review of civil air display safety yesterday and held an initial meeting this morning.

The safety standards that must be met by all major civil air displays in the UK are among the very highest in the world and are regularly reviewed. All air display arrangements, including the pilots and aircraft, must meet rigorous safety requirements. Individual display pilots are only granted approval following a thorough test of their abilities.

The CAA will continue to offer every assistance to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) as it seeks to establish the cause of the accident. The CAA will also act promptly in response to any emerging indications from the AAIB’s investigation.

Further details will be provided in the coming days and we will continue to work with the industry to ensure the most appropriate action is taken as a result of this review."

Cedrec's take

Our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with all victims, witnesses and their families.

The CAA's new restrictions will hopefully further reduce the risk of tragedies such as the Shoreham Air Show crash from occurring.