The fatal accident inquiry into the Clutha helicopter crash has heard that air traffic controllers had no concerns about the flight.
The first they knew something had gone wrong was when they received a call asking if they knew about a helicopter crash in Glasgow city centre.
Air traffic controller Andrew Campbell spoke to the police helicopter towards the end of its final journey.
He told the inquiry there was nothing in the pilot’s voice to cause concern.
Mr Campbell, 50, was based at Glasgow Airport working for National Air Traffic Services (NATS) on the night of the crash on Friday 29 November 2013.
He said that at 22:05 the helicopter pilot David Traill contacted air traffic control when the aircraft was five miles north of Lanark.
The pilot informed air traffic control the aircraft had cleared Edinburgh and requested permission to enter air space in Shotts which is controlled because of the proximity of a prison.
Asked by Gordon Lamont, for the Crown, if he had any concern about the flight, the witness replied: “None at all.”
The pilot contacted air traffic control again at 22:18, after the helicopter completed its task in the Bothwell area and he requested permission to enter controlled air space over Glasgow city centre, below 2,000ft.
The communication ended just before 22:20.
Mr Campbell said there was nothing that gave him cause for concern about the flight or in the pilot’s voice and tone. He also told the court he did not hear any audible gongs and there was no Mayday call. He said everything was “standard”.
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Asked when he first realised there was a problem, the witness said: “About 10 or 15 minutes after I thought it had landed we got a phone call from the supervisor at Prestwick control asking did I know anything about a helicopter crash over the city centre.”
Mr Campbell said he would have had no means of knowing about a problem on board the police helicopter unless the pilot had made a PAN – an urgency call – or a Mayday call.
The inquiry then heard that police observers on board were “encouraged” to point out anything to the pilot they felt was worthy during a flight, such as cautions and warnings.
Chief Inspector Colin McAllister, 56, was in charge of the air support unit at the police at the time of the tragedy.
Mr McAllister said if the the crew were “uncomfortable” or “felt the pilot was doing something unsafe” he would expect them to have a conversation about it.
Fuel warnings
Under cross examination by Donald Findlay QC, for the family of victim Robert Jenkins, Mr McAllister said the pilot had the final say over the flying of the aircraft and what the aircraft did.
Mr Findlay asked the witness what would have happened if the crew had expressed concerns to the pilot over the fuel warnings which were going off in the final stages of the flight and told him to land.
Mr McAllister replied: “The final decision is with the captain of the aircraft but I would absolutely expect him to land the aircraft in that kind of circumstances.”
Clutha inquiry: The evidence so far
The inquiry has previously heard that the helicopter’s pilot had received five low fuel warnings before the crash.
It has also heard that the aircraft did not have a flight recorder, which meant there was no data about when fuel warnings came on and the length of time they stayed on.
Pilot David Traill, 51; PC Tony Collins, 43; and PC Kirsty Nelis, 36, lost their lives in the crash along with seven customers who were in the bar on Stockwell Street.
They were Gary Arthur, 48; Joe Cusker, 59; Colin Gibson, 33; Robert Jenkins, 61; John McGarrigle, 58; Samuel McGhee, 56; and Mark O’Prey, 44.
The inquiry, which is being held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, continues.
Content provided by the BBC. Original piece can be found here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-48023102