FAMILIES who lost loved ones in the Clutha disaster have been given a date for a long-awaited Fatal Accident Inquiry.

The Crown Office has confirmed the inquiry into the tragedy, which claimed the lives of two people from Renfrewshire and one from East Renfrewshire, is scheduled to begin in April next year.

Lochwinnoch man David Traill, 51, was flying the police helicopter which crashed into the Clutha pub, in Glasgow, on November 29, 2013.

A total of 10 people – including Mr Trail, 48-year-old Gary Arthur, from Paisley, and 33-year-old Neilston man Colin Gibson – died in the disaster.

The FAI will aim to provide answers about what happened that tragic evening.

A preliminary hearing will take place at Hampden stadium, in Glasgow, on Wednesday, October 3, before the full FAI begins on Monday, April 8.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “We can confirm that the process to initiate a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the Clutha helicopter crash has begun.

“COPFS appreciates the importance of this inquiry to those affected and we have informed them of this development.”

Prosecutors said last year there was “insufficient evidence” for criminal proceedings but the Crown Office has reserved the right to raise them “should evidence in support of that course of action become available to prosecutors.”

Victims have previously hit out over the length of time taken for a decision on a FAI to be made.

More than 100 people were enjoying a night out at the Clutha, in Stockwell Street, when the helicopter, returning to its base by the River Clyde, plummeted through the roof.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report published in 2015 found that two fuel supply switches were off and the pilot did not follow emergency procedures after a fuel warning was displayed.

The report confirmed the fuel pumps were switched off somewhere between Dalkeith, in Midlothian, and Bothwell, in Lanarkshire.

The audible warning on the Police Scotland Eurocopter EC 135 was acknowledged by Mr Traill five times and guidelines say he should have landed within 10 minutes but did not.

There was no evidence of any technical malfunction.

Patrick McGuire, of Thompsons Solicitors, which has represented several families affected by the tragedy, said the confirmation of a date for the FAI is “welcome news.”

He added: “A Fatal Accident Inquiry is the only way families of those who lost their lives will be able to learn what happened to their loved ones on that awful night.”