PRIVATE meetings are being held with the relatives of the victims of the Clutha helicopter disaster as investigators prepare to publish their final report in less than a fortnight.
It is understood that there will be liaison briefings s to present the long-awaited findings as the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) expect to release the report into their long-running inquiry into the tragedy on October 21.
It is the first time that those injured or bereaved by the crash will learn what caused Police Scotland's only helicopter to plummet onto the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow on the night of Friday, November 29, 2013.
The AAIB have faced heavy criticism over the delays, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon repeatedly criticising the length of time it was taking investigators at the AAIB - a branch of the Department for Transport - to publish their findings.
The AAIB have invited victims’ families to question-and-answer sessions on October 21 and 22, where they will be given copies of the report ahead of its public release. The meetings will be held in central Glasgow but the venue is yet to be confirmed.
Louise O’Prey, sister of 44-year-old Clutha victim Mark O’Prey, who welcomed the move said: “This is actually the first we’ve heard from the AAIB. They’ve not been in touch with us at all.
“I just don’t understand why this has taken so long. The bin lorry crash happened a year after the Clutha yet the inquiry into that has been and gone.
The Eurocopter EC135 was returning from a routine operation when eyewitnesses said it "dropped like a stone", killing pilot Captain David Traill along with police constables Tony Collins and Kirsty Nelis.
Seven people who were inside the busy Clydeside venue at the time also lost their lives.
A draft report setting out the conclusions of AAIB experts was circulated to the legal teams representing so-called "interested parties" in April to allow them the opportunity to respond to and challenge its contents, which will underpin any decision by the Crown Office to launch criminal proceedings or a Fatal Accident Inquiry.
However, the circulation list was limited only to legal teams acting on behalf of those who could potentially face criticism, such as the operator Bond, Police Scotland, the aircraft's manufacturer Airbus Helicopters, and the pilot.
An interim report, published in February 2014, said the aircraft's left and right engines had flamed out within seconds of each other after being starved of fuel despite 76kg remaining in the main tank.
Crucial switches, which control the flow of fuel from the tanks to the engines, were found in the off position when they should have been on throughout the flight.
How they came to be turned off was one of the key mysteries facing investigators.
A series of low fuel warnings had also been triggered by thermal sensors in the tanks, along with warnings relating to the rotors and autopilot failure, but there was nothing to indicate that the helicopter was in trouble when Captain Traill requested permission to return to base at 10.18pm - four minutes before the crash.
No mayday was issued and no emergency landing, or "autorotative descent", appeared to have been attempted.
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