Shoreham Air Crash Plane ‘Could Have Flown For 70 More Years’ Despite Being Repeatedly Put In Storage

The Hawker Hunter that crashed onto cars at the Shoreham Air Show could reportedly have flown for another 70 years despite being put out of action on multiple occasions.

The 60-year-old aircraft had been mothballed - not used despite being in a good condition - three times over the years, and had changed ownership six times over the past 18 years.

In fact, the plane was said to be in “superb” condition, and could have flown until at least 2082.

An expert source in the aircraft - that crashed over the weekend, killing around 20 people - said that the plane was in such good shape because it had been in storage on multiple occasions over the years.

And he said that the crash investigation would find no fault with the maintenance of the aircraft and that the low fatigue index (FI) of 30 means it had another 70 per cent of its total lifespan ahead of it.

He revealed to The Telegraph: “An FI of 30 is incredibly low. It is calculated on how many “G’s” the aircraft is subjected to in each flight, from which you work out how much stress the airframe has been under.

“I would be surprised if the fatigue index goes up by more than one point per year, so it could have been flown for decades and decades longer.

“If you fly it straight and level, it would last even longer than that, and you can replace the engine, the wings, even the fuselage, so it had a very long life ahead, though eventually you wouldn’t have much of the original aircraft left.

“I would be surprised if any of the current aircraft being flown by the Red Arrows has an FI as low as the Hunter’s. It was in superb shape.

“That said, like cars, aircraft can suffer unexpected mechanical faults so it can’t be ruled out.”

The crashed plane suffered an in-flight fire in 1956 - one year after it flew for the very first time.

After repairs it was placed in storage in the late 1950s, as well as in 1987 for three years and in 1993 for another three years.

It was eventually sold at auction in 1997 and after full restoration and a six different owners, it is now owned by Essex businessman Graham Peacock, who paid £65,000 for it in 2012.

Families of the Shoreham air crash victims may have to wait weeks until their loved ones were officially confirmed dead as remains have yet to be identified.

Six victims have been named and at least five more have yet to be confirmed dead.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “None of the dead have been formally identified yet and it could be days or it could be weeks before that happens.”

Pics: Rex