A LONG-RUNNING fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two men in a Perthshire helicopter crash concluded at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday.

Pilot Robert Philip Ward (48), of Glasgow, and Edward Lapsley (56), of Tyne and Wear, died instantly when their Bell 206B Jet Ranger II plummeted to the ground near Coupar Angus in 2005.

The inquiry opened before Sheriff Lindsay Foulis in May last year and the families must now await his findings.

The helicopter was flying from Cumbernauld to Aberdeen on a gas pipeline inspection for the national grid when it crashed shortly after 10am on December 21.

It was to have been delivered to a maintenance organisation near Aberdeen for a scheduled inspection when the task was concluded.

However, Mr Ward lost control of the helicopter just 45 minutes into the journey.

The helicopter’s tail rotor and gearbox were torn from their mountings in the accident, with eyewitnesses reporting seeing the aircraft “fall apart” in mid air.

It had crossed the A94 Coupar Angus to Forfar road just seconds before it fell from the sky, though no debris hit the road.

The wreckage trail extended for several hundred metres, with the vertical fin, tail rotor assembly and gear box being among the earliest items found along the flight path.

Sheriff Foulis will present his determination in writing in due course.