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On 29 November 2013, a police helicopter operated by Bond Air Services for Police Scotland crashed into The Clutha, a pub in central
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, killing all three crew on board and seven patrons of the pub. Thirty-one more people in the pub were injured. The subsequent investigation concluded that the cause of the crash was
fuel starvation In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or i ...
due to incorrect operation of the fuel system.


Accident

The helicopter took off from its base at Glasgow City Heliport (which at the time operated from Stobcross Quay adjacent to the SECC) at 20:45 on 29 November 2013. The pilot was 51-year-old David Traill; Traill had flown Chinook helicopters in the RAF for 20 years, latterly as an instructor. He had worked for the police for four years, and had 646 hours of flight experience on the EC135. The helicopter carried two police observers, PCs Kirsty Nelis and Tony Collins. On takeoff it carried of fuel. The flight, callsign SP99, was initially involved in the search for a suspected
trespasser In the law of tort, property, and criminal law a trespasser is a person who commits the act of trespassing on a property, that is, without the permission of the owner. Being present on land as a trespasser thereto creates liability in the ...
on railway lines around Eglinton Toll. It was then tasked to Dalkeith in Midlothian, around east of its base, before returning to the Glasgow area. A few minutes before the crash, the pilot had received
air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
clearance to return to Glasgow City Heliport. At 22:22, approximately east of its home base, the helicopter crashed on the flat roof of The Clutha, a pub in Stockwell Street (' is
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for the
River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
, which is adjacent to the pub). No distress call was made. A ska band, Esperanza, was playing in the pub at the time of the crash and there were reported to be around 120 people in the building, some of whom were trapped by the collapsing roof. The three helicopter occupants and six people on the ground were killed. Thirty-two others were injured, twelve seriously, one of whom died some days later. One witness, Gordon Smart, editor of the '' Scottish Sun'', stated that he did not see a fireball or hear an explosion, and that the engine seemed to be misfiring.


Aircraft

The accident aircraft was a twin-engined Eurocopter EC135 T2+, serial 0546, registered G-SPAO and manufactured in 2007. At the time of the accident, it had flown for 6,351 hours and made 9,385 landings. The helicopter's
Certificate of Airworthiness A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spray ...
was valid until 4 September 2018.


Emergency response

The building is a former
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
which used to have multiple storeys, but after a fire in the 1960s the upper storeys were removed. The walls were therefore much thicker than would be expected for a building of this height, and the complex construction of the roof complicated the search and rescue operation. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deployed 125 firefighters to the scene rescuing people trapped in the building for hours after the incident. The
Scottish Ambulance Service The Scottish Ambulance Service () is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland, Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a NHS Scotland#Special health boards, special health board and is funded directly by t ...
sent upwards of 25 ambulances to the scene along with 2 Special Operations Response Teams that specialise in major and inaccessible incidents. They worked throughout the next two days searching and retrieving people from within the Clutha. Urban search and rescue firefighters were also in attendance to shore up unstable parts of the building and to excavate collapsed areas. People rescued from the scene were initially taken by the emergency services to a nearby
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
hotel. Labour Party MP Jim Murphy was interviewed as he was passing soon after the crash. 32 people were taken for treatment to local hospitals including Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Glasgow Victoria Infirmary, a dozen with injuries classed as serious. An emergency phone number was set up for anyone concerned about family and relatives who may have been in and around the pub, and
Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...
established a family reception centre to "provide advice and counselling to relatives of people who have been injured or people whose relatives are unaccounted for". One of the seriously injured victims died from his injuries on 12 December.


Reactions

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond described the crash as "a black day for Glasgow and for Scotland". On the day following the crash, planned St. Andrew's Day celebrations in Glasgow's
George Square George Square () is the principal Town square, civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, Glasgow, Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, St Andrew's ...
were cancelled, and flags were flown at half-mast on
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
buildings. Scottish football clubs held a pre-match minute's silence. Special services were held at Glasgow's St Andrew's Cathedral and
Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...
. The
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
visited the crash site on 6 December and met emergency service personnel. Police investigated offensive, racist or sectarian comments made about the crash on social media. A weekend of fundraising events for the families of the victims and the emergency services was held on 3–5 January 2014.


Investigation

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is responsible for investigating aircraft crashes in the United Kingdom, launched an investigation into the cause of the accident. Assistance in the investigation was provided by the
German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation
" ''German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation ...
and the French aviation incident investigation bodies (the manufacturers of the helicopter and its engine are based in Germany and France).Eurocopter, Safety Information Notice No. 2665-S-00-Rev-1, 3 December 2013
The American
National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
(representing the state of the manufacturer of the engines'
FADEC A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or " engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of a ...
controls), also provided assistance. The wreckage of the helicopter arrived at the AAIB's headquarters at
Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town located in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 57,486 as of the 2011 census and is an important centre of aviation, engineering and technology. The town is probably best known for it ...
on 3 December. The aircraft was not fitted with flight data recorders but the electronics fitted to the aircraft could contain data helpful in determining the cause of the accident.


Preliminary findings

The AAIB issued a preliminary report of its findings on 9 December. It confirmed that the rotor blades were attached, but neither they nor the fenestron tail rotor were rotating at the time of impact. No evidence of engine or gearbox failure was found and there were around of fuel still on board. The aircraft struck the building with "a high rate of descent and low/negligible forward speed" and no part of it detached in flight. It came to rest approximately upright. On 14 February 2014, the AAIB issued a Special Bulletin on the accident. It stated that the cause of the accident was that both engines had flamed out, but the reasons that they had done so had not yet been determined. The report stated that of the two supply tanks that provided fuel to the engines, one was empty and the other near empty, containing only of fuel. The main tank contained of fuel, but the pumps to transfer this fuel to the two engine supply tanks were switched off.


Final report

The final accident report was published in October 2015. It found the main cause of the accident to be
fuel starvation In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or i ...
due to the fuel transfer pumps being switched off "for unknown reasons." This resulted in the engines flaming out despite there being of usable fuel remaining in the main tank. A failure to land within ten minutes of the first low-fuel warning, as prescribed by emergency checklists, and a failure to achieve a successful autorotation after both engines failed were cited as additional causal factors. The AAIB also identified as contributory factor that the radar altimeter and the steerable landing light were both unpowered following the engine flame-out, leading to a loss of height information and reduced visual cues during the autorotation manoeuvre. Seven safety recommendations were made.


Fatal accident inquiry

In 2017 the Crown Office announced that a fatal accident inquiry would be held into the crash. The Crown Office also confirmed that no criminal charges would be laid following an investigation by Police Scotland. Preliminary hearings were held on 3 October and 4 December 2018, then on 11 January 5 February and 3 April 2019. The inquiry began on 8 April 2019 in a temporary court at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
football ground, and concluded on 5 August. The inquiry was mandatory in respect of the crew of the helicopter, and discretionary in respect of the customers of the Clutha Vaults. The inquiry sat for 31 days between 8 April and 18 July. Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull provided a written determination which was published on 30 October 2019. No recommendations were made.


Aftermath


The Clutha

The Clutha pub partially reopened in July 2015, with Scotland's First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
attending the opening ceremony.


Civil aviation

As a direct result of the accident and recommendations made by the AAIB, the Civil Aviation Authority mandated that all police helicopters would be fitted with
Cockpit Voice Recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
s and Flight Data Recorders. Implementation of this was to be completed by 31 March 2020.


Media

One of the survivors from the bar, Michael Byrne, was interviewed by Jane Garvey for "We Said We’d Never Talk About It Again", a November 2021 episode of her
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
series ''Life Changing''. He described how the experience had led him to contemplate suicide, and to setting up "Lived Experience Trauma Support", an organisation providing mental health training and support services.


References


External links


Dedicated Eurocopter EC135 T2i Accident pageCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on the incident

Timeline of tweets
curated by Twitter's UK News Manager; includes several photographs of the rescue efforts and recovery.
Eurocopter, Safety Information Notice No. 2665-S-00-Rev-1, 3 December 2013Judiciary of Scotland

Determination of Sheriff Principal C D Turnbull Into Fatal Accidents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow helicopter crash 2013 disasters in the United Kingdom 2013 in Scotland 2010s in Glasgow Accidents and incidents involving the Eurocopter EC135 Aviation accidents and incidents caused by fuel starvation Aviation accidents and incidents in 2013 Aviation accidents and incidents in Scotland Disasters in Glasgow November 2013 in the United Kingdom