Many years ago a highly respected display pilot came incredibly close to disaster
He had a few of his aircraft sat on a taxiway and they were going to do a static photoshoot
One aircraft, a Sea Fury, was just a little bit out of shot
Quick as a flash the pilot jumped into the cockpit, had the engine running almost at full tilt and spun the plane on its axis and into the right position for the shot
That could have gotten him into all sorts of issues...not least had there been anyone close to the Fury at the time....he did not shout "stand clear" or anything, he just got in there, started her up and spun the thing on its wheels without a second thought
Complacency breeds contempt
The pilot of the Hunter at Shoreham maybe of a similar mindset, the "I can do this with my eyes closed" type
Display flying is inherently dangerous even at the most well organised shows...God knows I have lost a few friends over the years at well organised dispalys and air races to know that sometimes you can be a little too relaxed, maybe stretch your ability way beyond your capability....and sometimes the adrenalin from "giving the paying crowd something special" can cloud the judgement in even the most experienced pilot
Complacency of "I can do that" turns into the contempt of "I can do that BETTER"
Shoreham by virtue of its location is a tough airfield for displaying, its not the most open or the least built up...major roads, housing etc, so its always been a tough call performing there, afterall even the Red Arrows cringe at the thought
You can add legislation and safety advice and rules til one is blue in the face but when you have a falible human being at the end of the line sitting in the cockpit and who by nature of the beast can get a little carried away with what they are doing cos "I can do this" complacency, then tragedy will almost always strike eventually
Shoreham Airshow will always be difficult, as are many airshows for a variety of reasons and the powers at be can legislate and throw rules at airshows til the cows come home but its not going to prevent accidents completely...not when you have a human being at the controls ultimately in charge of his or her plane
Personally I hope that airshows continue for decades to come, yes there will be more deaths and injuries but you can say that about every single thing in life and you cannot ever make anything 100% safe
The old chestnut about lessons being learnt...yes there are many from Shoreham to take on board and for pilots and organisers to try and prevent another tragedy
Can they ever make airshows 100% safe.....no, its impossible
Is that reason enough to stop performing at airshows...absolutely not
Just as every carcrash does not stop everyone from driving a car
You can do as much as possible to prevent another Shoreham but complacency will always be there lurking to catch out a pilot who feels "I can do this BETTER" and when they try, they crash & burn
Its not legislation or safety rules needed....its basic complacency that has no place in the cockpit