CAA announces restrictions on UK airshows
Above:
CAA offices Gatwick.
Courtesy CAA
Following the accident the CAA immediately began an urgent review and yesterday announced a series of immediate restrictions and changes to UK civil air displays.
The CAA announced that as a precaution, on Saturday 22 August it took steps to ensure no further flights were made by Hawker Hunter aircraft and 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, whilst it commenced a full review of civil air display safety on Sunday and held an initial meeting yesterday 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 said it will continue to offer every assistance to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch as it seeks to establish the cause of the accident and will act promptly in response to any emerging indications from the AAIB’s investigation.
A CAA statement said that further details will be provided in the coming days as it continues to work with the industry to ensure the most appropriate action is taken as a result of this review and the thoughts of everyone at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) remain with all of those affected by the tragic accident at the Shoreham Air Show on Saturday 22 August.
