Shoreham air disaster pilot Andrew Hill refuses to apologise 10 years after deadly fireball

Shameless Shoreham air disaster pilot Andy Hilltoday refused to acknowledge his role in the deadly jet fireball which killed 11 men - 10 years after the disaster.

The ex-British Airways airman, 60, has spent the last decade fighting to regain his pilot's licence after he was grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority. And despite a coroner blaming his flying in the lead up to the disaster, Mr Hill has declined to apologise.

As the 10-year anniversary of the disaster approaches, a spokesman for Mr Hill said: “Mr Hill does not want to make any public statement about the tragic events of Shoreham.”

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Mr Hill was cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence following a trial at the Old Bailey. But during aninquest senior coroner Penelope Schofield said the plane crashing was "a result of the manner in which it was flown".

"This was not a small misjudgement," she told the inquest in Horsham, finding the pilot had two opportunities to escape the manoeuvre and prevent the crash. "In my view, this goes beyond a mere mistake," the West Sussex coroner added.

Earlier this year, a last-ditch bid for a judicial review by Mr Hill to regain his flying licence was refused. Now loved ones of those who died in the disaster have criticised his refusal to say sorry.

Anthony Mallinson, who lost his father, retired engineer James Graham Mallinson, 72, in the disaster, said: “Hill hasn’t let anything drop and so there hasn’t really been that sort of time frame where you could say we’ve had three months grace where we have had time to grieve properly.

"I think I think in the ten years since, it’s been all about him. It would be very nice for him to acknowledge us properly. To actually have a note or a letter sent personally to each of the families. But I don’t see it ever happening in a million years.

“We want to make sure that the right thing is done and that justice is served. Justice is found in whatever shape or form that it can be. Because of his acquittal, we lost the justice that we should. It was a travesty, honestly, he was acquitted. We’ve had to try and make up for that by fighting him all the way.”

Former British Airways pilot Mr Hill was attempting a loop manoeuvre in the vintage jet when he crashed on the A27 in West Sussex. The 1950s aircraft broke into four parts, destroying eight vehicles on the dual carriageway in West Sussex.

Mr Hill, 60, of Sandon, Herts, survived after being thrown clear but spent a week in an induced coma. In its final report on the disaster, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) listed a series of failings including poor risk assessments.