Fiancée of Clutha pilot says sherif f ’s ruling ‘sullied his good reputation’
Doctor speaks out following ‘distressing’ conclusion that captain caused fatal crash
BLAMING the pilot for the Clutha helicopter disaster has ‘sullied’ his distinguished reputation, his fiancée said yesterday.
Doctor Lucy Thomas, 47, said a sheriff’s conclusion that Captain David Traill had caused the crash which killed ten people was ‘distressing and incomprehensible’.
Captain Traill was among those killed when the police aircraft crashed through the roof of the Clutha Vaults bar in Glasgow six years ago.
Last week, Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull ruled he ‘took a chance’ that low fuel warnings were a mistake, in a damning 173-page report on the tragedy.
But Dr Thomas said the Sheriff’s decision ‘does no justice to the memories’ of the victims.
All three of the aircraft’s crew members and seven pub customers died when the helicopter stalled and crashed through the roof of the Clutha on Glasgow’s Clydeside on November 29, 2013. Sheriff Turnbull ruled Captain Traill’s failure to follow emergency protocol in the minutes before the crash was ‘inexplicable’.
Dr Thomas issued a statement yesterday disputing his decision. She said: ‘For almost six years I have remained silent in order to protect my privacy.
‘However, such is my strength of feeling since the Sheriff Principal’s Determination, I feel compelled to make this statement.
‘It is my understanding that due to misleading information from the aircraft fuel gauge and display system, Dave had only moments to make decisions and carry out tasks in an attempt to respond to this issue.
‘It is also my understanding that he should have had a significantly longer timescale in which to do so before the helicopter would lose both engines.’
She added: ‘The manufacturer’s aircraft maintenance manual incorrectly recorded that the flameout time between engines was three to four minutes.
‘The correct time available should have been in excess of one minute but due to the design of the fuel tanks allowing for fuel from one tank to slop over into another, he had only 32 seconds.
‘That 32 seconds ended in tragedy and the loss of his and nine other valuable lives.’
Dr Thomas added: ‘In my opinion, the Sheriff Principal’s determination does no justice to the memories of Gary Arthur, Tony Collins, Joe Cusker, Colin Gibson, Robert Jenkins, John McGarrigle,
Samuel McGhee, Kirsty Nelis, Mark O’Prey, and to the memory and reputation of Dave Traill; it insults the intelligence of those who know of the evidence presented at the Inquiry and are aware of the content of the initial AAIB report.
‘Disbelief has been expressed by many family members of those who died and by members of the public at the conclusion drawn by Sheriff Principal Turnbull, who stated that Dave consciously took risks which caused the accident.
‘This expression of disbelief speaks volumes and means much more to me than the opinion of the Sheriff Principal.’
Dr Thomas concluded: ‘I find it distressing and incomprehensible that the Sheriff Principal has come to this conclusion.
‘He chose not to concentrate on the fact that the EC135 model of helicopter has a history of faults with the caution advisory display, specifically a history of erroneous or spurious fuel indications, amongst other technical problems such as contamination of the fuel tanks. Instead, the Sheriff Principal has opted to sully the distinguished reputation of a pilot with an exemplary record who was renowned for his sense of responsibility and his regard for the safety of his crew.
‘The opportunity for closure and maybe some peace for so many people has been denied.’
Sheriff Turnbull’s report states the pilot’s ‘conscious decision’ to ignore low fuel warning lights ‘had fatal consequences’.
A spokesman for the Judicial Office for Scotland said: ‘The Sheriff Principal carefully considered all the evidence put before the inquiry before making his determination.’
‘Opportunity for closure denied’