CLUTHA PILOT’S FATAL GAMBLE
Damning verdict of report into pub crash that killed 10
THE Clutha helicopter disaster that killed ten people was yesterday blamed on the pilot who ‘ignored low fuel warnings’.
Captain David Traill ‘took a chance’ that the alerts were a mistake, a sheriff ruled in a damning 173-page report on the tragedy.
All three of the aircraft’s crew members and seven pub customers died when the Police Scotland helicopter stalled and crashed through the roof of the Clutha Vaults bar on Glasgow’s Clydeside on
November 29, 2013. But last night the families of victims said they did not believe Captain Traill was solely at fault and branded the findings a ‘whitewash’.
They described Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull’s decision to point the finger at the pilot as an ‘easy option’ – and claimed he should ‘hang his head in shame’.
Sheriff Principal Turnbull ruled that Captain Traill’s failure to follow emergency protocol in the minutes before the crash was ‘inexplicable’. His report states the ex-RAF pilot’s ‘conscious decision’ to
ignore low fuel warning lights ‘had fatal consequences’ and ‘changed for ever the lives of many people’.
The publication of his report marks the end of a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) which took more than five years to open and involved 14 weeks of evidence – with months of waiting for an outcome for the families of the victims.
In his written conclusion, Sheriff Principal Turnbull states: ‘The central question for the inquiry is, “Why did that happen?”.
‘The answer is a simple one. Captain Traill ignored the low fuel warnings he received.
‘Had he followed the procedure set down in the pilot’s checklist, the accident would not have happened.
‘Captain Traill took a chance that the low fuel warnings he received were erroneous.
‘That was a conscious decision on his part. It was a decision that had fatal consequences for ten people.’
Captain Traill, 51, and two crew members – PC Tony Collins, 43, and PC Kirsty Nelis, 36 – died when the helicopter stalled and plummeted 100ft through the pub roof.
Inside, customers Gary Arthur, 48; Joe Cusker, 59; Colin Gibson, 33; Robert Jenkins, 61; John McGarrigle, 58; Samuel McGhee, 56; and Mark O’Prey, 44, were killed.
Another 31 people were injured, including customers and bar staff, as the Eurocopter
EC135, registration G-SPAO, crashed at 10.22pm, less than three nautical miles from its base on the banks of the River Clyde.
Evidence submitted to the inquiry showed that most of the victims died from head and chest injuries suffered when rubble and the aircraft itself came down on them.
Four were killed either ‘instantaneously’ or ‘almost instantaneously’.
The helicopter’s three crew members, who were still strapped into their seats when reached by fire crews, died immediately from head and neck injuries.
Mr McGhee, a car wash maintenance worker from Glasgow, was found alive by rescuers but died around an hour later.
Mr O’Prey, a window cleaner from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was found trapped under rubble from the waist down but was moving his head and mumbling. He died between 11pm and 11.30pm.
Grandfather Mr Cusker, from Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary but died from traumatic asphyxia, as a result of the crash, on December 12.
The families of six of the ten victims were represented at the inquiry but relatives of PC Collins, PC Nelis, Mr Cusker and Mr Gibson did not participate. Several families gathered at the rebuilt Clutha pub yesterday afternoon. Mark O’Prey’s father, Ian O’Prey, 73, said Captain Traill had been made a ‘fall guy’ and that Sheriff Principal Turnbull should ‘hang his head in shame’.
He added: ‘I don’t believe Mr Traill was to blame.
‘They were never interested in the people who died. From day one it was all about the helicopter.
‘The first thing that needed to be done, that helicopter needed to be lifted out of the building, but they left it there because they were more interested in safeguarding the helicopter.’
Survivor Mary Kavanagh, 65, a retired charity worker, said she had to quit her job after the disaster and received counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Her partner, Robert Jenkins, was crushed by the aircraft.
She added: ‘It’s easy to blame someone who isn’t here to answer for himself. It did come out in the inquiry that there was a problem with the fuel system. It’s not as black and white as they have made it – definitely not’.
Clutha owner Alan Crossan said the ‘Clutha Family’ was supportive of Captain Traill, adding: ‘To me, the conclusion is wrong.
‘We sat through the whole of the FAI and a lot of the stuff was pointing to the fuel system having design issues. That must have led to the pilot taking the actions he did. They went down the easy route because he has no voice.’
It is understood the families have decided not to take legal action against the manufacturers of the helicopter, Airbus.
Sheriff Principal Turnbull insisted the cause of the crash is ‘not in doubt’ and happened because both of the aircraft’s engines flamed out when the fuel ran dry.
He found both supply tank fuel pumps had been turned off during the helicopter’s final flight.
As a result, its smaller supply tanks, which directly supply the engine, had emptied.
Captain Traill, of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, ignored five audible and visual low-fuel warnings.
The aircraft’s computer showed he acknowledged the alerts and turned them off during the flight – and failed to follow procedure and land within ten minutes of the first fuel warning being triggered.
Analysis of the wreckage found there would have been 26 minutes between the supply tanks running dry and the engines flaming out 32 seconds apart.
The inquiry concluded that both fuel pumps had been turned off when the aircraft came down, ruling: ‘Regrettably, when switching off the second fuel transfer pump, Captain Traill appears to have overlooked the fact that he had previously switched off the forward fuel transfer pump approximately 11 minutes earlier.’
It found that had one or both of them been switched back on by Mr Traill at that point, the helicopter would not have crashed.
Sheriff Principal Turnbull said there was no evidence to suggest Captain Traill deliberately caused the crash and noted he ‘made a valiant attempt to land G-SPAO after both engines had flamed out’.
During the inquiry, solicitors for the families argued that type of helicopter had experienced problems with fuel contamination. But samples taken from the fuel tank after the crash were ‘unadulterated, free from water contamination and within specification’.
The inquiry made no recommendations to manufacturer Airbus nor craft operator Babcock, which employed Captain Traill.
Concluding his report, Sheriff Principal Turnbull said: ‘November 29, 2013, changed for ever the lives of many people. A number of them were present throughout many days of evidence in this inquiry. The dignity with which they did so is admirable.
‘I extend the condolences of the court and of all who work within it to all those affected by this tragedy – to not only the friends and relatives of those who died, but to those who were injured that evening, and to those who must live with the events of it.’
An Airbus Helicopters spokesman said: ‘We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safe operation of our helicopters by the thousands of operators whose crews and passengers rely on them every day.’
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: ‘We note the Sheriff Principal’s determination and are studying its contents.’
Captain Traill ignored low fuel warnings. He took a chance they were erroneous – a decision with fatal consequences for 10 people Sheriff Principal Turnbull