THE partner of a man killed the Clutha helicopter crash has criticised an inquiry as having given "scarcely a mention" to the victims.

Mary Kavanagh, the partner of Robert Jenkins, said a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of Mr Jenkins and nine others should have quizzed emergency services over what they did to try to save victims.

She said the Clutha FAI, which began on April 8 and finished this month, came after an "unacceptable and unconscionable" delay and failed to cover major points.

A submission to Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull by Ms Kavanagh's QC, Donald Findlay, says: "Mary Kavanagh has never in any way been motivated by a desire to see blame attributed to anyone be they individual or organisation.

"However, she does seek an answer to a simple but crucial question.

"Why did she and her partner go out for a pleasant evening and yet she had to go home alone while the man she loved lay dead in the rubble of the Clutha?

"It is submitted that this is a question she is entitled to have answered and that there is an obligation on the Inquiry to seek to provide that answer."

The document goes on to say that those who died and their families have "hardly featured" in the inquiry and "merited scarcely a mention".

It says: "No evidence has been led about the precise circumstances in which they as individuals came to die.

"No evidence has been led to explain why they died while others survived.

"No evidence has been led from the emergency services to explain what was done to try to save them, if anything.

"No evidence has been led to show what more, if anything, could have been done to save them.

"It is submitted that this is what people would wish to know and are entitled to know.

"Those who died are men and women who individually died alone and without the comfort of those who loved them and cared for them."

On November 29, 2013, Captain David Traill, 51, flew in the Police Scotland helicopter with two Police Air Observers to East Lothian before travelling to Uddingston, Bothwell and Bargeddie.

Despite there being adequate fuel on board to return to Glasgow Heliport, the fuel transfer pumps were found to be switched off, meaning fuel was not being transferred from the main tank to the supply tanks.

When the supply tanks ran dry the helicopter's engines flamed out within 32 seconds of each other - although the court heard previously that pilot were trained to understand there would be three to four minutes between engine flame outs.

The court has heard that the helicopter gave out five low fuel warnings, meaning the pilot should have landed within 10 minutes.

However, Mr Traill and his two crew members, who were both high trained and experienced, discounted the warnings and continued in the air.

Just eight seconds after the second engine flamed out the helicopter crashed through the roof of the Clutha Vaults Bar, killing Mr Traill and PCs Kirsty Nelis and Tony Collins.

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.

The court also heard that Mr Traill tried to enter autorotation once the engines flamed out, a manoeuvre that attempts to keep the aircraft's rotors spinning and allow it to land.

Data from the helicopter G-SPAO showed that Mr Traill managed to enter autorotation twice but could not sustain it.

A submission from his fiancee, Dr Lucy Thomas, asks Sheriff Turnbull to not to find the pilot responsible for the crash.

Dr Thomas, an A&E medic, said that no pilot could have successfully landed the aircraft in the conditions he faced.

Her submission reads: "The evidence recovered from the aircraft’s NVM shows that Captain Traill was able to recover G-SPAO’s rotor rpm to a sufficient level for the relevant warning to extinguish on two occasions.

"This was despite the significant limitations he faced.

"This demonstrates that Captain Traill was attempting to enter or manage autorotation.

"There was evidence that a flare manoeuvre was attempted. This was either an attempt to increase rotor RPM for a third time, or an attempt to cushion the landing.

"Either way, Captain Traill was clearly doing his best to save the aircraft and its occupants."

She also asks the Sheriff to make it clear Mr Traill did not sabotage the helicopter and he was not engaged in deliberate risk taking.

The Crown has asked the sheriff to accept the findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in full, a report which finds the crash was caused by pilot error.

However, Dr Thomas's submission reads: “On the basis it is probable that the fuel indication displayed to Captain Traill was overreading, the inquiry should find that the accident could have been avoided had the information and training given to pilots relating to the operation of the aircraft made clear that:

a) the fuel caution and fuel warning systems were entirely independent and did not operate on the same systems; and

b) that the fuel warning system took priority over the fuel caution system.

“Had this been made clear to Captain Traill, it is likely his initial reaction on receiving a fuel warning would have been to land the helicopter.”

It adds: “Captain Traill was an extremely accomplished and experienced pilot.

“It was acknowledged by the test pilot for the manufacturer that, where there is fuel starvation in both engines at the height at which G-SPAO [the helicopter] was and without an open area in front of it, the aircraft was doomed.

“It is highly improbable that any pilot could have landed G-SPAO at night, in an urban environment, from a height of 500-600ft within a time frame of less than ten seconds.”

Dr Thomas's submission also details several instances where issues have been found with the fuel readings of EC 135 helicopters.

Sheriff Turnbull will produce a report with his findings but no date has been announced as yet.