LAWYERS representing victims of the Clutha helicopter disaster have urged the aviation industry as a whole to follow Airbus Helicopter's lead on flight safety, after the operator committed to installing vital black box recording equipment to all of its aircraft.
Irwin Mitchell Scotland is representing 17 people injured or bereaved when when a police helicopter, manufactured by Airbus, crashed onto the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow on November 29 2013.
An Air Accident Investigation Branch probe has revealed the aircraft's engines were starved of fuel in the run up to the crash, but a final report on the cause of the tragedy is not expected until this summer.
Irwin Mitchell have raised concerns that the lack of a black box on the helicopter may have hampered investigations.
Existing aviation regulations did not require the Clutha helicopter to be fitted with the device, but the legal firm repeatedly called for a review of the law to ensure that all commercial passenger-carrying helicopters flying in UK airspace must carry black box recorders.
The have welcomed the decision by Airbus to fit all of the company's helicopters with cockpit voice recording and flight data recording equipment as standard.
Elaine Russell, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: "All of those we represent simply want to know how what happened, yet the lack of black box recording equipment on the helicopter involved has made the investigation process lengthier and also much more difficult.
"With this in mind, it is very welcome that Airbus Helicopters has confirmed plans to introduce such equipment as standard on its aircraft."
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