Crash tragedy jet had flown at Cosford Air Show

A plane with the same serial number as the crashed jet, WV372, was pictured over the skies of Shropshire in 2006. Since then, Hawker Hunters have appeared at the annual show at least six times.

The pilot of WV372, Andy Hill had also flown at Cosford - taking to the skies in the Vulcan back in 2013.

All the remaining Hunters have been grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, following last weekend's disaster that claimed at least 11 lives.

Officials at RAF Cosford yesterday said it was too early to comment on which vintage planes would appear at next year's show.

They also refused to be drawn on flightpaths into the event, which normally cross the busy M54, A41 and A5.

The Hawker Hunter involved in the crash was originally built as a single seat F4 for the Royal Air Force, by Hawker Aircraft Limited at its Kingston-upon-Thames factory. It made its first flight on July 17 1955 but suffered an in-flight fire in 1956. After the plane was repaired, it joined up with RAF Jever in Germany.

The plane crashed at the Shoreham Air Show in West Sussex last Saturday at 1.20pm.

Eyewitnesses say it had just begun its flight and was performing a loop when it failed to pull out of the manoeuvre and crashed into traffic on the A27, a busy main road. At least 11 people are believed to have been killed.

These include Worthing United footballers and best friends Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23, personal trainer Matt Jones, aged 24, wedding chauffeur Maurice Abrahams, aged 76, a former soldier who had served in the Parachute Regiment, and Mark Reeves, aged 53, of Seaford, who had parked his motorbike on the outskirts to take photographs of the planes. Motorcyclist Mark Trussler and Daniele Polito, a father from Worthing, are both missing and are also feared to have been killed in the tragedy.

Pilot MrHill, is fighting for his life and has been moved to a specialist hospital for treatment. How the crash occurred is, as yet, unknown but it is believed that it was not a fault with the plane.

The wreckage has been sent to Farnborough, Hampshire, where Air Accidents Investigation Branch, AAIB, investigators will seek to find out what caused the crash.

The CAA immediately grounded all Hawker Hunter aircraft in the aftermath of the disaster. After an urgent review meeting, the CAA announced a raft of restrictions on the flying of vintage jets over land, which will be in place 'until further notice', including banning 'high energy' aerobatics and limiting the vintage craft to flypasts.

Squadron Leader Chris Wilson, spokesperson for RAF Cosford, said: "The CAA have announced that they have commenced a full review of the civil air display safety regulations. The review is owned and is being conducted by the CAA, the MOD will provide support and action any lessons which are applicable to the military. The safety standards that must be met by all major civil air displays in the UK are among the very highest in the world and are regularly reviewed.

"All air display arrangements, including the pilots and aircraft, must meet rigorous safety requirements. Individual display pilots are only granted approval following a thorough test of their abilities.

"The CAA will continue to offer every assistance to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch as it seeks to establish the cause of the accident. The CAA will also act promptly in response to any emerging indications from the AAIB's investigation."

The stretch of A27 where the plane came down is still closed, but is expected to re-open on Bank Holiday Monday.

The plane crashed with such force that specialists – including forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, odontologists and pathologists – are having to examine the DNA, teeth and human remains to discover who was killed. Today at 1.20pm, communities affected by the Shoreham crash were holding a minute's silence.