A MANAGER at Bond Air Services has said an engineer who claimed an "accident was waiting to happen" the day before the Clutha crash was "unprofessional".

Anthony Dowsing, line maintenance coordinator with aircraft operator Bond Air Services, today gave evidence at the Clutha Fatal Accident Inquiry.

He was questioned by Gordon Lamont, for the Crown, over a handover note engineer Craig Booth wrote the day before the Glasgow helicopter crash in November 2013.

Mr Booth said in an email to Mr Dowsing and others, "I am extremely concerned at the way we are having to carry out in depth maintenance on our aircraft at Glasgow.

"It is an accident waiting to happen!!"

Mr Dowsing, who worked for Bond from June 2001 to December 2014, was asked what he made of the note.

He told the court, which is sitting at Hampden Park: "Putting 'an accident waiting to happen' on a handover I don't think was very professional.

"There was no concern from me about how maintenance was being carried out.

"You just carry out the maintenance when you can carry it out.

The Gazette: op: left to right) David Traill; PC Kirsty Nelis; PC Tony Collins; Gary Arthur; Samuel McGhee (Bottom: left to right) Colin Gibson; Robert Jenkins; Mark O'Prey; John McGarrigle; Joe Cuskerop: left to right) David Traill; PC Kirsty Nelis; PC Tony Collins; Gary Arthur; Samuel McGhee (Bottom: left to right) Colin Gibson; Robert Jenkins; Mark O'Prey; John McGarrigle; Joe Cusker

"You shouldn't be putting that down in writing, you should be speaking to your manager first.

"The concern was that I felt it was a bit unjust that he put that down in writing."

Mr Dowsing was asked what he did with the information and he said he passed it on to his manager, Wayne D'Andilly.

Mr Dowsing added: "I passed it to my manager to make him aware of it, I felt it was above my level of junior management.

"I printed it out and passed it to [my manager]. We had a conversation about it and put it down to personalities, to the type of person Paul Booth was."

The court heard Mr Dowsing worked for Bond's base in Staverton, England, worked with 20 bases around Britain, including two in Scotland at Glasgow and Inverness.

He said Glasgow was unique to the others as, while 19 bases had one engineer each, Glasgow had a team of engineers and so "more autonomy".

David Traill, 51, from Lochwinnoch, and 43-year-old policeman Tony Collins, from Clarkston, were on board the helicopter when it crashed, leaving them fatally injured in the Glasgow helicopter crash in November 2013. 

This afternoon the inquiry is hearing from witness James Bruce, 69, a ground handler with Bond until his retirement in November 2014.

The inquiry before Principal Sheriff Craig Turnbull continues.