A FATAL Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the Clutha helicopter crash will begin in April, it has been confirmed.

Neilston man Colin Gibson, 33, was among 10 people who died when the Police Scotland chopper crashed onto the roof of the Glasgow pub on November 29, 2013.

The latest preliminary hearing was told the full FAI will begin on April 8 at Hampden Park, in Glasgow.

Family members, Police Scotland, Airbus Helicopters and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) are among those represented at the inquiry.

Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull, who is overseeing the FAI, said 17 parties are currently participating in the inquiry, which will sit until at least into August, with a series of adjournments due to events at Hampden.

Lawyers representing some of the victims’ families said their participation could be ‘limited due to funding’, with Legal Aid applications in process.

Sheriff Turnbull set a further preliminary hearing in January for updates on the Legal Aid issue.

Roddy Dunlop QC, representing Airbus Helicopters, said a video simulation of the helicopter flight should be completed in January and will form part of the FAI, while Senior Counsel Sean Smith QC, who is leading the inquiry, said the Crown was working to “whittle down” the potential witness list before April.

Asked for an estimate of how many people will give evidence, he said: “I’m not able to advise even in broad terms at this stage.

“What I can say is, having drafted what witnesses and documents might be led in the inquiry, the next most important task is to whittle that down even further.”

More than 100 people were in the Clutha Vaults pub when the helicopter, returning to its base on the banks of the River Clyde, crashed through the roof.

Mr Gibson was among the pub customers who died, along with Paisley man Gary Arthur and John McGarrigle, Mark O’Prey, Robert Jenkins, Samuel McGhee and Joe Cusker.

Also killed were helicopter pilot David Traill, from Lochwinnoch, and crew PC Tony Collins and PC Kirsty Nelis.

An AAIB report published in 2015 found two fuel supply switches were off and the pilot did not follow emergency procedures after a fuel warning in the cockpit.

The Crown Office has previously stated there is insufficient evidence for criminal proceedings.