Yahoo News 'I really thought I was going to die' - the harrowing tales of the Shoreham air crash survivors
When Andrew Hill’s plane dropped from the clear blue skies above Shoreham, it changed the lives of many forever.
What had been a sunny summer’s day out for many became a nightmare as the Hawker Hunter turned into a fireball before their eyes.
And some of those injured in the blast have given astonishing testimony, describing the scenes of devastation on August 22, 2015.
Their accounts were read out in a hushed Old Bailey courtroom – where pilot Andrew Hill was cleared of manslaughter on Friday – also packed with relatives of the 11 men who died.
House husband and grandfather Paul Snellgrove was watching the show with his family.
As the plane came down on a dual carriageway, Mr Snellgrove heard a ‘crunch’ and was thrown over a child’s buggy and his daughter.
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He said: ‘I started to feel a burning sensation down my face. I was in absolute agony.
‘My daughter said: “Dad, your face and ears are gone”. I shouted “Run”.
‘Everyone that I had seen before the crash had gone. I don’t know what happened to them.’
Software engineer Thomas Milburn, from Worthing, had cycled to Shoreham, where he found a spot to take pictures.
He said: ‘From my sitting position I immediately lay down, put my head in my hands and closed my eyes.
‘I heard an explosion. I felt a wave of pressure coming towards me. Through my eyelids I saw a bright orange light. I felt extreme heat through my skin.
‘I really thought I was going to die. I thought I would be consumed by burning fuel.
‘I realised I had been engulfed or partially engulfed by a fireball. Everything around me was silent.
‘I remember thinking, ‘Don’t look around’. Immediately before the crash I saw a lot of people sitting on the ground. I was sure all those people were in the direct line of the plane and must have been killed.
‘I just kept running down the road towards the airfield.’
Retired Peter Reed leapt from his burning car while it was still moving to escape the carnage.
He said: ‘I had the strong impression that my vehicle was on fire and it was going to explode.
‘I decided I needed to get out of my still-moving vehicle. I leapt out of my car. I saw my car continuing along the road, finally coming to a stop.
‘I felt my arms were hot where I had been burnt, but otherwise I felt unscathed.’
Since the crash, Mr Reed said he had suffered flashbacks and had difficulty sleeping.
Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene to help the injured and found Mr Hill had been flung from the burning wreckage and into a patch of brambles.
While he had also been badly hurt, he was conscious and told medics he had ‘blacked out in the air’.
