On 22 Aug 2015 at 4:48pm Fragile wrote:
Oh God, 7 people have died at Shoreham air show disaster.Heart breaking
On 22 Aug 2015 at 5:30pm Border Control wrote:
Airshows need banning, at least over built up areas. There is a fatality somewhere every year.
On 22 Aug 2015 at 7:36pm townie wrote:
It wasn't a built up area. Get your facts right. The plane crashed into the A27/
Tragic. RIP
On 22 Aug 2015 at 8:08pm Earl of Lewes wrote:
Having an airshow over the busiest road on the south coast was never a good idea. I almost crashed my car when a low-flying Messerschmidt buzzed over me in Lancing. At last week's show in Eastbourne, the planes were mostly over the sea, which seems a much better idea.
They should either stop the Shoreham show or divert the traffic when it's on. Seven lives is an unacceptable loss.
On 22 Aug 2015 at 8:53pm OldCynic wrote:
All air shows should display over the sea - too many accidents, too many lives lost.
On 22 Aug 2015 at 9:16pm Tipex wrote:
Here's a radical idea. How about know-nothing armchair experts resist their default finger-wagging smug muck slinging and simply try to drum up some empathy for those killed, their families, kids, friends and colleagues?
On 22 Aug 2015 at 11:22pm Um... wrote:
That seems a little bit harsh. It is possible to do both, and since EOL's comment recalls his/her own frightening experience, I think someone with empathy would possibly not seek to undermine his/her concerns.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 12:12am Taff wrote:
Absolute proof that computers stop people thinking! FFS
On 23 Aug 2015 at 7:50am Earl of Lewes wrote:
Thank you Um. I'm sure everyone feels very upset for the people involved and their families (also the emergency workers who have had to search through the wreckage). It's just awful. However, that doesn't mean we're not allowed to venture an opinion.
I commented because I used to commute along this road during the Shoreham airshow and I always felt that the combination of low-flying aircraft doing stunts and the busiest road on the south coast wasn't a good one. If that makes me an appalling armchair expert, so be it. But I would hope that the terrible death toll (still rising) should prompt a reassessment. I wouldn't cancel the show, but would move it to Worthing, where the planes could fly over the sea.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 8:43am bastian wrote:
can I just say I was in a car on that road just before it happened trying to get to a relative and we turned off to avoid the traffic-it is terrifying to think that it was that close, if we'd stayed on the road we would have been one of the cars that got hit.
The famillies of the dead are very much at the fore of my mind.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 10:01am sid wrote:
very sad news
On 23 Aug 2015 at 12:39pm Airshow fan wrote:
I do think the time for stunts in aircraft @ public displays is over. I have had great pleasure watching the Warbirds show and those old 'uns basically did gentle flypasts. The Vulcan was something else, but it was still flown slowly past us.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 12:51pm Ben wrote:
So sad. Something will have to change after this. I stopped going to air shows after seeing the third fatal crash in as many shows.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 3:47pm Newell Fisher wrote:
Likely death toll now 11.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 5:10pm Mister wrote:
whilst incredibly sad. Calling for a ban is ridiculous. 13 people died last year from vending machines. Best ban them. Over 400 people died by getting out of bed. Ban beds. Where does it stop. I re-iterate it is a very sad occurrence but simply banning stuff because accidents may happen is ridiculous.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 5:13pm bastian wrote:
over the sea would make more sense.
I don't want to ban it, just change the risk assessment prevention area.
On 23 Aug 2015 at 9:59pm Ben wrote:
I'm not condoning a ban, but it's not right that people who are nothing to do with the event should die as a result of risk taking by others. F1 is dangerous, but at least it is well contained within the enclosure of the circuit and everybody within is well aware and willing to accept the risks. FFS 11 people are dead here who had no interest in an air show, it's absolutely tragic and should not be allowed to happen again.
On 24 Aug 2015 at 8:02am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
It's tragic, and I really feel for all those hurt and who have lost friends and family, but I think calls for a ban are a bit excessive.
I think you'll find that significantly more people have died in incidents at football grounds over the years than have died at or as a result of air shows. Should we ban football?
On 24 Aug 2015 at 8:28am Earl of Lewes wrote:
It shouldn't be a choice between doing nothing or banning it. The sensible alternative is to move it a mile south, where pilots can do their stunts over the sea.
On 24 Aug 2015 at 10:09am Fragile wrote:
Ben: the best response so far
On 24 Aug 2015 at 12:52pm Grr wrote:
rather than trying to blame someone for a tragic accident, throwing your toys out of the pram saying air shows should be banned etc, put yourselves in the shoes of the family of those whom lost their lives, it was a tragic ACCIDENT be grateful that you are still alive and not in the position of those other that were involved!
On 24 Aug 2015 at 1:32pm Fragile wrote:
@Grr. I think you will find that some of the bereaved relatives are also questioning why an air show was allowed so close to the road. No-one on here has "thrown their toys out of the pram" except you
On 24 Aug 2015 at 2:31pm Grafter wrote:
Bit of a propeller head myself but I have to admit this is devastating.
The fact that those killed were not even watching the show somehow makes it worse.
The display rules were tightened a lot after Ramstein in the 80s but even so the proximity of the road seems an obvious exception to the otherwise pretty strict rules of display. People just aren't willing to accept the risks that we assume to have been acceptable in the glory days of Farnborough and Biggin Hill.
It will be a shame if the RAFA lose out as they do good work for veterans who need support.
On 24 Aug 2015 at 4:02pm Earl of Lewes wrote:
@Grr - are you related to Tipex? You both seem to think that expressing an opinion means that we're being disrespectful to the victims. I don't see the logic. Of course I'm appalled and horrified by the loss of life and the grief caused to the families. I think it goes without saying, doesn't it? Apparently not.
Most people here aren't indulging in a knee-jerk call for a total ban, but are simply expressing a desire to see the route moved away from a busy four-lane road.
This may have been an 'ACCIDENT' but some accidents are more likely than others. If I try to loop the loop in a vintage plane over a busy road, the risks are higher than if I'm flying over the sea.
The official regulator has just announced that safety restrictions will be tightened up at airshows. Have they thrown their toys out of the pram?
On 24 Aug 2015 at 10:23pm High Dudgeon wrote:
I saw it fly over Lewes on its way to Shoreham - must have been only a few minutes before the crash.