Air show crash pilot is hailed a hero

Brian Brown, of Mallard Avenue, Barnby Dun, was killed when his privately-owned Hawker Hurricane plummeted into a field on the first day of the Shoreham Air Show in West Sussex last weekend.

A witness has described how Mr Brown, aged 49, who was airfield manager at the Real Aeroplane Company in Breighton, near Selby, deliberately crashed to spare the lives of people on the ground.

Michael Burns and his young family were among the crowds at the display.

He said: “I think, had he carried on descending in a straight line, he might just have made it, but that field was full of people.

“I believe he saw children playing and families picnicking and made a conscious decision to avoid them - he did a very heroic thing.”

An inquest into Mr Brown’s death was adjourned today by the Worthing coroner, who was told the cause of death was multiple injuries.