A COURT has heard from the pilot who flew a Police Scotland helicopter on the day it crashed through the roof of the Clutha pub in Glasgow.

Captain George Young, a pilot for Babcock, flew aircraft G-SPAO during the day shift on November 29, 2013 before handing over to the nightshift crew.

Later that night, while captained by pilot David Traill, the helicopter fell from the sky into the Clutha Vaults, killing three on board and a further seven in the pub.

The court has previously heard that the helicopter had five low fuel warnings before the crash, with a low fuel warning requiring a pilot to land within 10 minutes.

Leading evidence, Procurator Fiscal Depute Sean Smith QC asked Mr Young if he had ever experienced a low fuel warning to which he replied: "Never".

Mr Young, who told the court he learned to fly in Long Beach, California, in 1996, is a Chief Training Captain for Babcock, the firm that took over Bond shortly after the Clutha crash.

He is one of a number of pilots giving expert testimony to the inquiry this week.

On the day of the crash, Mr Young told the court, the helicopter was called out to a missing person search near Dingwall.

It flew from Glasgow to Inverness before being refuelled.

It arrived at Inverness with 160kg of fuel and departed on the search in Strathpeffer with 410kg before arriving one hour and 35 minutes later with 160kg again.

The aircraft was then refuelled to 430kg before departing to Glasgow - via a second missing person search at Loch Ness - where it was refuelled to 400kg.

That night the helicopter would crash killing Pilot David Traill, 51; and Police Scotland air observers PC Tony Collins, 43; and PC Kirsty Nelis, 36,

Gary Arthur, 48; Joe Cusker, 59; Colin Gibson, 33; Robert Jenkins, 61; John McGarrigle, 58; Samuel McGhee, 56; and Mark O'Prey, 44, were killed in the bar.

Mr Young said he would make fuel calculations roughly every 20-30 minutes working on a basis of having 100kg minimum in the tank, allowing for 8kg of "unusable fuel".

He added this was because the minimum figure of fuel to land with - established by aircraft operator Bond - had changed to 90kg, having been 85kg at the time of the crash.

He was asked by Gordon Jackson QC, counsel for the family of Gary Arthur, to explain the perspective of a pilot in a helicopter when low fuel warnings had sounded.

Mr Jackson said: "I do want to try to use your experience and understanding to get my mind round what happened on this fateful day."

He asked Mr Young how well he knew Mr Traill, to which Mr Young replied: "Not well, I'd only been employed by the company several months. But well enough."

The pilot said he had flown "several times" with PCs Nelis and Collins and said they "absolutely" knew how to "respond and react" in an emergency situation on board.

"It was a team?" Mr Jackson asked.

"That is correct, sir." the pilot replied.

The court has previously heard that the fuel pumps in the aircraft were switched off.

Mr Jackson asked the witness: "Virtually the first thing you are meant to do is switch the fuel pumps back on. Can you think of any rational reason why any competent pilot would not make sure the fuel pumps were on?"

He replied: "No sir."

Mr Jackson added: "It doesn't seem to make sense to hear the gong five times. Hard to make sense of that."

Mr Young said: "It's hard to understand."

Mr Jackson said: "It would be expected that at least one of [the air observers] would shout 'Turn the fuel pumps on.'

"Five warnings - to not check the fuel pumps and no observer was heard to say anything about it... if there was time it is inexplicable.

"To be ignored by a pilot and two competent observers, it's just not right."

The inquiry, before Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull, had adjourned in June to accommodate events at Hampden Park, where a temporary court has been installed.

It continues today.