Hill was performing aerobatics when the Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 in Sussex on 22 August 2015. Families of those who died have waited nearly three years to learn whether charges would be brought, an MP said.
Hill, from Hertfordshire, is due to appear before Westminster magistrates on 19 April. He is to face 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and one of endangering an aircraft, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Simon Ringrose, from the CPS special crime division, said he had found there was sufficient evidence to charge Mr Hill after a “careful review” of the case.
He added: “Following a careful review of the evidence I have found there is sufficient evidence to charge Mr Hill with the manslaughter by gross negligence of the eleven men who died.
“I have also authorised a further charge against Mr Hill of endangering an air craft, contrary to Article 127 of the Air Navigation Order 2009.”
Relief
Phil and Sue Grimstone, whose son Matthew died when the aircraft hit his car, said they were pleased a decision had “finally been made” and they hoped the criminal process would “progress swiftly.”
Edwina Abrahams, whose wedding chauffeur husband Maurice, 76, was on his way to pick up a bride when he died, said she was “very relieved” by the announcement.
Mrs Abrahams, 62, said: “It’s taken such a long time to get here. Now we think that this time next year it will all be behind us. It has taken too long.” The Grimstones’ solicitor, Jim Morris, said the decision had taken over two and a half years, and an inquest expected to take eight weeks to complete could only commence after criminal proceedings had ended.
Mixed emotions
Tim Loughton, MP for Worthing East and Shoreham, welcomed the announcement, but criticised the delay in bringing charges.
“Frankly those families have been in limbo for far too long and this should have happened a long time ago,” he said.
Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove where some of the victims’ families reside, said: “This is the right decision. My instinctive first reaction is that for the families this must be just an enormous moment for them to hear this and an unbelievable relief. I want this to move forward with the pace it has been missing to date.”
James Healy-Prat, head of aviation at Stewarts Law, who is representing some of the victims’ families, said “emotions had been mixed.”
“At least the families now know what the position is with the criminal proceedings. But it means the inquest will likely be delayed by another year at least, which is difficult for them. So it could be 2019, four years after the event, before they can get closure,” he said.
Pilot errors
Hill, a trained Royal Air Force instructor and fast jet pilot, was seriously injured in the crash, which saw him thrown clear of the aircraft. He was initially placed in a medically induced coma and was interviewed by police following his discharge from hospital.
He will be charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and one count of endangering an aircraft, which can incur a jail term of up to five years, the CPS said.
An earlier investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found a series of pilot errors caused the crash. The final report by the AAIB found that Mr Hill failed to gain enough height to complete the “bent loop” manoeuvre he attempted moments before crashing. It would have been possible for him to abandon the manoeuvre, but it was concluded that Mr Hill either deemed it unnecessary or did not know how to pull out.
The Shoreham Airshow has not been staged again since the disaster, out of respect for the families of the men who died.
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