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Air crash at Shoreham Airshow
Ref : Air crash : Date : 17-09-2007
On Saturday 15th September 2007 at about 3:20pm there was a fatal crash involving a World War II Hurricane at the 2007 Shoreham Airshow. Further details can be found on the BBC website:
- Update report : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6997875.stm
- Original report : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6996734.stm
Sussex Police have urged anyone with video or photographic footage of the crash to contact them, you can find their contact details on their website : www.sussex.police.uk
See also :
- West Sussex Fire and Rescue services website (www.westsussex.gov.uk/living/emergencies/fire_and_rescue_service.aspx)
- Shoreham Airshow website (www.shorehamairshow.com)
- Shoreham Airport website (www.shorehamairport.co.uk)
- UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) website (www.aaib.gov.uk)
Report from Adur District Council's Corporate and Public Safety Manager
Adur District Council attended the incident in the role of Local Authority Emergency Planning at the request of Sussex Police. This was not a major incident and therefore did not require activation of our Council Emergency Plan.
The response of Adur District Council was to attend to the air show control and provide assistance to other responders. Following an initial briefing critical incidents debrief was undertaken with all responders and air show organisers present.
An initial request from the Police was for availability of resources that may be required to access the crash site in particular off road vehicles, in addition it was recognised that with less than four hours of daylight remaining, resources would be required for temporary emergency lighting.
The requests were passed to Parks and Gardens and Adur Watch management and resulted in the attendance of employees, a 4 x 4 Landrover, generator and lighting sets. Council resources remained at the site assisting police with cordon tape and erecting of lighting units.
The Council assessed arrangements for supporting the incident and ensured that sufficient resources were available throughout the night if required.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) attended the scene late in the afternoon and made a request for lifting and recover equipment to be made available the following day to recover wreckage. At this stage the nearest Royal Air Force recovery unit was in South Wales and would be travelling overnight. Arrangements were made for Parks and Gardens staff to attend at 2:00pm on the Sunday to stand by to assist the AAIB.
On Sunday afternoon, the recovery operation was undertaken under the direction of the AAIB. The RAF was able to bring a 4 X 4 HGV onto the site with lifting equipment. The Council resources were stood down after the recovery the aircraft engine and propeller.
Although the site was in a remote location and could only be accessed across fields, all the requests made of the Local Authority were met.
To give some idea of the joint resources deployed to this site it included :
- Coroner Officer
- Crime scene Officers
- Police Search team officers
- Daytime police cordon officers
- Night time scene security officers
- RAF search and recovery officers
- AAIB officers
- Fire service vehicles
- Local Authority staff and vehicles
- Portable toilets
- On site catering (Hampshire Fire Service) for hot meals for over 50 personnel
- Large canvas tents for temporary mortuary and recovery purposes
- Generators and lighting towers.
- Off road parking for over 20 vehicles.
The incident showed that Adur District Council was capable of supporting other Category 1 responders and that existing plans and training were sufficient.
A debrief will take place involving the employees that attended.
Ends
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