Terry Smith, 50, bravely risked his life to pull stricken people from cars stranded as flames engulfed the A27 in Shoreham, West Sussex.
Telling how he was so close to the blaze it scorched his skin, he said: “I can’t believe I escaped with my life.”
Pilot Andy Hill amazingly survived when the 1950s plane plunged to the ground as he failed to complete an acrobatic loop in an air show display in front of 20,000 spectators.
The experienced airline pilot, with more than 12,000 hours flying experience, was among 14 injured as the Hawker Hunter came down in flames and exploded as it hit a queue of vehicles at a red traffic light.
And tonight police revealed there could be more bodies.
The former RAF jump jet pilot was fighting for his life in hospital after being pulled from the wreckage.
As the ball of fire exploded Terry instinctively bundled his eight-year-old daughter out of the way before wading back in to help others.
Telling of the moment of impact he said: “It seemed to come in at a really strange angle.
“He just didn’t have enough height. I was just thinking, this is coming too close, it’s not going to make it, it’s not going to make it.
"He just slammed into the cars that were queueing.
“There was this huge fireball and as it went past, it was like something out of a horror movie. It turned into a big black fireball as it went past.
“I just grabbed my daughter and we ran towards the bushes instinctively. I got hit by some of the debris, it scuffed my leg but I wasn’t injured.
“The fireball was just immense, it was searing heat I could feel burning my skin.”
The account manager from Worthing, West Sussex, said: “It was only a few metres away. It was terrifying. It was instantly clear to me that people wouldn’t have made it.
“I’ve been going to the show for years and I never thought I’d see anything like this. As it unfolds in front of you, you just can’t believe it.
“The shock was instant.”
One section of the plane broke off, coming down in flames around 200 yards from the Shoreham Airshow.
Terry, who had been watching the display with his daughter on the north side of the road when the plane hit, said: “We were so close.
“My daughter’s really upset about it. She’s been crying and there’s nothing I can do to console her.
“Two cars collided in front of me. I looked round to make sure my daughter was OK. There was a couple next to us and we went over to look if this couple were OK. We pulled them from the car – it was terrifying.
“It was like seeing images of the 9/11 terrorist attack, all the flames shooting out the building.
"There wasn’t a trail of fire behind it. The fireball didn’t go with it, it was ahead of the wreckage. I was just stunned afterwards.
"There was smoke and debris everywhere."
Follow the live updates on Daily Mirror here
No comments:
Post a Comment