A FATAL Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the Clutha helicopter crash will begin in April.
Lochwinnoch man David Traill, 51, was flying the police helicopter which crashed onto the roof of the Glasgow pub on November 29, 2013. Mr Traill was one of 10 killed, alongside Paisley man Gary Arthur, 48. 

The latest preliminary hearing was told the full FAI will begin on April 8 at Hampden Park, in Glasgow.

Family members, Police Scotland, Airbus Helicopters and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) are among those represented at the inquiry.

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Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull, who is overseeing the FAI, said 17 parties are currently participating in the inquiry, which will sit until at least into August, with a series of adjournments due to events at Hampden.

Lawyers representing some of the victims’ families said their participation could be ‘limited due to funding’, with Legal Aid applications in process.

Sheriff Turnbull set a further preliminary hearing in January for updates on the Legal Aid issue.

Roddy Dunlop QC, representing Airbus Helicopters, said a video simulation of the flight should be completed in January and will form part of the FAI, while Senior Counsel Sean Smith QC, who is leading the inquiry, said the Crown was working to ‘whittle down’ the potential witness list before April.

Asked for an estimate of how many people will give evidence, he said: “I’m not able to advise at this stage.”

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More than 100 people were in the Clutha Vaults pub when the helicopter, returning to its base on the banks of the River Clyde, crashed. Mr Arthur was among the customers who died, along with Neilston man Colin Gibson, John McGarrigle, Mark O’Prey, Robert Jenkins, Samuel McGhee and Joe Cusker. Also killed were helicopter crew PC Tony Collins and PC Kirsty Nelis.