'My son was heading to the football – then plane crashed into his car'

'My son was heading to the football – then plane crashed into his car' Pilot Andrew Hill crashed a vintage Hawker Hunter jet on the A27 in West Sussex while trying to perform a mid-air stunt in August 2015 and it led to the deaths of 11 men A heartbroken mum whose son was killed in the Shoreham air show disaster has opened up about that tragic day in a devastating new documentary. Jacob Schilt, 23 and his friend, Matthew Grimstone, 23, were both travelling together in a car to play for Worthing United on August 22, 2015. Caroline, who is Jacob’s mum, recalled: “When Jacob left, we were all on the doorstep saying goodbye to him – including my dad – which feels quite poignant now.” She made the comments on the latest episode of Cause of Death on Channel 5, which focused on the lives of 11 men who were killed when a Hawker Hunter jet fell from the sky during a mid-air stunt gone wrong at the Shoreham Airshow. Pals Jacob and Matthew were travelling to their football match via the A27 when the jet suddenly descended – and the vehicle they were in was the first to be hit by the aircraft. “We received a phone call,” Caroline, 64, remembered. “It was one of the team. One of the Worthing United team. And he said, ‘We are really scared here because Jacob and Matt haven’t turned up’. “I was phoning Jacob’s phone frequently in the hope that he was going to reply. We were talking to the Grimstones on the phone, they hadn’t heard anything from Matt, we were all trying to phone Matt and Jacob. I phoned 101 to see if the police had any information, but of course it was chaos.” One of the people called to the chaotic scene was forensic anthropologist Dr Julie Roberts, who said the disaster site resembled a “bomb scene”. She added: “The first thing that struck me was the scale of it really. Debris everywhere. Bits of aeroplane all over the dual carriageway, fuel spillage, cars, bicycles, lots of broken trees. “It was apparent from the early stages of the operation that multiple individuals had died as a result of the plane crash, but we didn't know how many.” That night, Matthew’s dad was told by the police that his son’s car had been found at the scene. It later emerged that Matthew and Jacob were in the car that was struck by the jet and their causes of death were later confirmed as being from head injuries. As for how the news of her boy’s death was confirmed to her, Caroline remembered: “I took the phone call. You know, they were very apologetic, ‘Terribly sorry to tell you, but Jacob is dead.’ He had officially been identified.” Pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, who did the Home Office post-mortem examination on Jay Slater’s remains, then explained on the documentary: “Matthew and Jacob were struck directly by the aircraft after the first point of impact and were killed by that collision. “They were not subject to the plane collision but were protected by the car and were intact. So the investigation can much more quickly establish that their deaths were caused not by fire, smoke or by fragmentation.” The tragedy happened when pilot Andrew Hill, who used to work for British Airways, failed to pull off an acrobatic loop-the-loop stunt. The loop manoeuvre in the vintage 1950s jet resulted in it breaking into four parts, destroying eight vehicles on the dual carriageway in West Sussex and ultimately claiming the lives of 11 people. Mr Hill faced 11 counts of gross negligence manslaughter charges and underwent a trial at the Old Bailey — but he was cleared by the jury after they heard about him being cognitively impaired during the flight. Caroline recalled how the families of the people who died all held hands during the verdict and she said: “It was all not guilty, not guilty, for all 11. And it was awful. Everyone thought that it all pointed to him being found guilty and then he wasn’t.” Three years after being acquitted, a coroner then ruled that the 11 who died were unlawfully killed and Mr Hill’s poor flying was recorded as the reason why. As for how they reacted to that inquest revelation, Caroline said: “We all got up and hugged each other and it was just, we were so grateful.” The families now meet up every year for a remembrance service and Anthony Mallinson, whose dad James Graham Mallinson, 72, died in the disaster, said: “Us 11 families, we've now become a collaborative group of families that look after one another and can support one another in good times and bad times.” Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings The Shoreham air disaster claimed the lives of Anthony Brightwell, 53, from Hove; Daniele Polito, 23, from Goring-by-Sea; Dylan Archer, 42, from Brighton; Jacob Schilt, 23, from Brighton; James Mallinson, 72, from Newick; Mark Reeves, 53, from Seaford; Mark Trussler, 54, from Worthing; Matthew Grimstone, 23, from Brighton; Matthew Jones, 24, from Littlehampton; Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton; and Richard Smith, 26, from Hove. Cause of Death is on Wednesday October 28 at 9pm - Watch or stream on 5