03/03/2017 South Today

I'm Laura Trant with the news in the South.

It was the worst air display crash since the Farnborough

11 men died when a vintage Hawker Hunter crashed onto the busy

A27 dual carriageway at the Shoreham Airshow in 2015.

Some of those who died were motorists, others were spectators.

Today the official report into what caused the tragedy was published.

Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch

concluded the pilot, Andy Hill, was going too slowly

He was also flying too low - at less than half the height

He failed to notice both of these things.

He told investigators he doesn't remember anything about the crash.

Sean Killick reports from the AAIB HQ at Farnborough Airport.

This investigation has taken 18 months.

The pilot, Andy Hill, was interviewed several times

but said he could not remember any details.

The investigators have produced an animation

The Hawker Hunter, which was 60 years old, had flown

It entered a loop at 185 feet when it should have been

Investigators say maximum engine thrust was not maintained

during the upward half of the manoeuvre.

Instead of reaching 3500 feet to complete the manoeuvre safely,

The report says the aircraft did not achieve sufficient height

because the combination of entry speed and engine thrust

The report says the pilot appears not to have recognised the aircraft

was too low to complete the downward half of the manoeuvre

The investigators say the pilot could have performed an escape

manoeuvre but had not practised it in a Hawker Hunter aircraft.

They also highlighted failings in the risk assessment

Shoreham wasn't unique in that we found that was

the case in other airshows around the country.

A number of recommendations have been made on that area

because we think that is a particularly important

area in which the hazards of displaying these vintage

high-performance aircraft are considered

well in advance of the display so that the organisers consider

what could go wrong, where it might go wrong

and who might be affected by that, and if the risks are not

sufficiently low, then appropriate controls are put in place

The airshow organisers say they have always worked hard

to ensure the event was safe but they will give further analysis

The family of Mark Reeves, one of those who died,

At the end of the day, often airshows affect much larger

areas than just the premises, as here, the airshow took place over

a busy road and that's where this crash happened,

so I think CAA need to act on the recommendations

There need to be stricter regulations and they

An investigation by Sussex Police continues and a full inquest

is still to be held, either later this year or next.

"A wholly avoidable accident which led to a wholly avoidable death."

That's how a judge at Reading Crown Court described

a crash caused by a driver using his mobile phone.

24-year-old Lewis Stratford has been jailed for more than three years.

He killed 28-year-old Gavin Roberts when he crashed through the central

When Lewis Stratford walked into court this morning,

If you use your phone, you'll end up like me.

This final warning a stark reminder that this crime can cost you much

more than six points and a ?200 fine.

Stratford was speeding to Portsmouth to visit his girlfriend.

He believed she was cheating on him and made a number of emotional phone

During one of the calls his car crashed through the central

reservation, hitting a blue BMW being driven by

Both drivers were rushed to hospital.

In court today Judge Stephen John told Stratford, "This was a wholly

avoidable accident which caused a wholly avoidable death.

Gavin's mother Rose was not in court today

In it she said, "Lewis, you have my forgiveness and compassion.

I know you did not mean to cause Gavin's death.

Lewis, do not let this destroy and consume you.

Instead, honour Gavin's memory by learning from this

Gavin's girlfriend Meg also hopes to forgive Lewis.

She met with him before sentencing to raise awareness

of the dangers of using your phone behind the wheel.

Every time I say sorry, I think it's a bit cheap.

I think I'm going to work on forgiving him.

I'm never going to forget what he did and so over time I hope

that I can show him some forgiveness and not hate him as much

Meg works as a teacher at Royal Wooton Bassett Academy in Swindon.

She hopes to stop the next generation from making

Being a teacher, a lot of my students have seen

the documentary and been aware of what I'm going through.

We teach in schools a lot about drink-driving and we teach

them about alcoholism and the impact that can have behind the wheel,

and the use of drugs, but we forget the physical act

of using your mobile phone behind the wheel can have just

Lewis Stratford was sentenced to three years and eight months

in prison, and a driving ban of almost five years.

Her Majesty the Queen was in Wiltshire today,

presenting leeks to soldiers to mark St David's Day,

She was there to see members of The Royal Welsh

at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth, as part of her role

She also met this goat - the regiment's mascot.

That's all from me this evening. We're back tomorrow at 5:50pm but

now Sam Fraser is here with the weekend weather. It's looking soggy,

changeable is the theme for the next few days. Tonight we have cloudy

skies and rain, that rain should be largely clear through the early

hours and then we are left with cloudy skies and lows not much below

seven Celsius. Tomorrow morning that dawn is cloudy, we keep that cloud

for much of the day although we should see some double brighter

spells develop later, the chance of the odd shower as well and a brisk

southerly wind. Looking ahead, Saturday is the better day of the

weekend, Sunday is much, much wetter, with frequent spells of rain

lasting on land for much the day. Top temperature on Sunday of 10

Celsius and Monday is cool and cloudy with

Good evening, mixed fortunes this weekend. Today we saw a fair share

of rain. This is the view one of our weather watchers in Doncaster. Not

particularly inspiring. This weekend there will be some rain, but some of

us will get away with a dry