Clutha families to lodge compensation claims against helicopter owner

Lawyers for the families of the ten victims are taking legal action after failing to negotiate a settlement.

In total, 80 compensation claims have been lodged with Bond, the firm that operated the Eurocopter EC135 that crashed into the Clutha bar in Glasgow two years ago.

A spokesman for the company said payments had been made but did not disagree that “a handful” of individuals were not satisfied with the level of compensation.

John McGarrigle, whose father died in the incident, said he was told he was not entitled to compensation as he was estranged from his father.

He was due to see him at the bar the night of the disaster.

Previously, some of the families criticised Bond for its “inadequate” offers.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report released last week provided that what happened just before the crash was unknown because of the lack of a black box – a device which records flight data and audio – on the aircraft.

But Alex Ashbourne, a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, said that, based on the report, it was “very difficult” not to reach the conclusion that the pilot was to blame.

He said that the evidence suggested the problems began when the pilot, David Traill, 51, starved the engines of fuel by flipping two switches.

This would have set off warning lights and an alarm.

Mr Ashbourne said: “I do not understand why those switches were turned off, but it seems clear they were not flipped in response to a mechanical fault.

“In other words, it was the pilot’s decision to turn them off that triggered visual and aural warnings in the cockpit.

“It’s very distressing for those affected by this tragedy but we will probably never know why the pilot decided to starve the engines of fuel.”

Mr Traill had clocked 646 flying hours on the Eurocopter EC135 and was said to be a pilot with “above average talents” who had flown as an RAF pilot in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

A spokesman for Bond said the firm is committed to compensating those who have suffered.

He said: “We are surprised by this recourse to the court, as we have repeatedly requested the relevant information required to progress these claims and many of these requests have gone unanswered.

“Despite this, we will continue to work hard to resolve all claims as swiftly as possible.

“In many cases we have provided funding for rehabilitation treatments as well as making interim payments to those recovering from injuries.”