Vintage jets have been banned from performing risky manoeuvres over land as part of emergency measures imposed after the Shoreham air disaster, it was announced yesterday.
All high-energy aerobatics such as loop-the-loops, spins and sharp turns involving jets will not be permitted at air shows in Britain, the Civil Aviation Authority has said. Hundreds of vintage aircraft, thought to include those from the Fifties, will be limited to flypasts unless they are over the sea.
The restrictions were introduced after the accident on Saturday in which a Hawker Hunter T7 jet crashed on to a busy road in West Sussex. The wreckage of the jet was lifted by crane from the A27 yesterday, where it is thought that 11 people may have died. No further victims were found at the site, easing fears that the death toll may reach up to 20 as police had suggested earlier in the day.
Concerns were raised that extra fuel was carried in auxiliary tanks on the aircraft, and that this may have caused the massive fireball. Leslie Hatcher, a former RAF aerobatics instructor, told The Times: “He was carrying drop [auxiliary fuel] tanks on each wing. To make it as safe as possible, you take an absolute minimum of fuel. Even if they were empty, they should not have been there. They cause drag on the aircraft.”
It emerged yesterday that the Red Arrows had decided against appearing at the Shoreham air show because there was insufficient room to perform manoeuvres.
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Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton, was named as the driver of a classic Daimler wedding car that was hit on Saturday. The former soldier and police officer, who served in the Grenadier Guards and The Parachute Regiment, was due to collect a bride.
Mr Abrahams’s family described him yesterday as a well-respected and loved father and husband who enjoyed gardening and chauffeuring his “beloved” Daimler.
He served in Cyprus and Bahrain with the United Nations and worked as a police officer for Hampshire police when he was in his thirties.
Mr Abrahams was heading to pick up Rebecca Sheen from her home in Goring-by-Sea to marry Rajendran Asekaran at Findon Manor in Findon, West Sussex. Ms Sheen’s father said that the couple did not know why her car had not arrived until he discovered a picture of the wreckage on his iPhone.
A young father has also been missing since the crash. Daniele Polito, 23, was a passenger in the car of Matt Jones, a personal trainer who was confirmed by his family to have died in his Vauxhall Corsa. They are thought to have been heading to the beach. Mr Polito’s family said that there was no evidence of his death.
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Mr Polito’s mother-in-law, Ruth Cox, whose daughter has a son with Mr Polito, said on Facebook: “Daniele Polito is still missing — he was with Matt Jones on their way back from work when the plane crashed.” Marina Polito, who is believed to be Daniele’s sister, said on Facebook: “Nothing has been confirmed that Daniele is gone.”
Speaking from the family’s home in Littlehampton, West Sussex, Mr Jones’s mother, Hazel, said: “Matt was an adventurer. He was outgoing. He was the life and soul of the party.
“Last year he went to Australia travelling around and worked in various places. He liked sky-diving, scuba diving. He was a real adrenaline junkie.”
Mr Jones’s father, Stephen, said: “Due to the catastrophic nature of the accident on Saturday, police have told me it may be a couple of weeks before we can arrange Matt’s funeral.”
Friends of Mark Trussler, 49, the missing motorcyclist, described him as having a heart of gold. Hazel Mayes, who used to live downstairs from Mr Trussler, told the Daily Mirror: “We heard he was missing. It’s a massive shock. He was a really funny bloke. A real jack-the-lad type character.”
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The hunt went on for individuals believed to have been near the scene. Danny Minter, 41, was trying yesterday to track down two people who helped his parents after their BMW broke down on the A27 before the crash.
Mr Minter, from Lancing in West Sussex, said on social media: “They’re trying to find two cars. One was a black BMW or Audi and the driver stopped to offer him water for the car, and the other car was a blue MPV with a mum and children.
“If you know who these are could you please comment just to check that you are OK. Both of these cars are stuck in the minds of my parents. Thank you.”
On Sunday, Jacob Schilt and Matthew Grimstone,23, who died when the Vauxhall Corsa they were in was crushed by the aircraft.
Only six of those feared dead have been named.