THE father of a man who was killed in the Clutha tragedy has branded the prospect of a Fatal Accident Inquiry a “waste of time”.
Ian O’Prey, whose 44-year-old son Mark lost his life when the helicopter plunged through the roof of the Clutha Bar in Glasgow almost two years ago, said he is still haunted by the unanswered questions he and his family have about the tragedy.
He said he felt nothing would be resolved by an FAI.
Speaking ahead of the second anniversary of the tragedy, Mr O’Prey, of East Kilbride, said: “Why was my son lying three feet from the front door, and it took three days to get him out? Nobody is answering that. Nobody can tell us anything.
“I don’t know when the FAI will be but quite honestly I don’t think it will matter that much. Someone will blame something, and someone else will blame another thing. It’s a waste of time.”
The O’Prey family plans to hold a church service in memory of their son today.
Many families hit out after the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its report last month into what happened to the helicopter in the time before the tragedy, with some saying they did not feel they had any new information.
The report found Captain Traill had silenced low-fuel warnings and stayed in the air for another 20 minutes, in breach of safety protocols which advises pilots to land within 10 minutes of a low fuel alert.
Cockpit switches controlling fuel flow from the tanks to engines had also been turned off and the crash was blamed on fuel starvation causing both Eurocopter EC135 engines, which had no defects, to cut out.
Alan Crossan, the owner of the Clutha, also said he was frustrated by the lack of answers provided by the AAIB report.
He plans to close the bar early tomorrow as a mark of respect for those who were killed or injured on November 29, 2013.
Mr Crossan said: “It’s the first time we’ve been open really on the anniversary since the accident, and it just seemed like the right thing to do.”
The Crown Office is yet to set a date for an FAI to begin, but has vowed to carry it out as soon as possible.
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: “It is right that the evidence can be vigorously tested in a public setting and be the subject of judicial determination.
“We will continue to keep the families advised of progress with the investigation.”
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