IT is every TV news anchor’s cliched question in the midst of a disaster, and its repeated use makes us all shudder: “Who is to blame?”

The crass assumption that responsibility for everything that goes wrong in life must be pinned immediately on a single individual often leads investigators, politicians and public opinion off in the wrong direction.

After the Oklahoma City bombing, those “experts” who inhabit TV studios quickly concluded US authorities were seeking a “Middle Eastern group”, before the emergence of a guilty Timothy McVeigh, home-grown and notably white terrorist.

In Scotland these days we have gone full circle; it seems difficult sometimes to pin the blame on anyone for anything. Most times we should not rush to do so.

The ludicrous actions of authorities in the aftermath of the Glasgow bin-lorry incident – firstly his employers in trying to obscure the identity of driver Harry Clarke and later the Crown Office in failing to prosecute him – underlined a desire to portray this as a tragic, unavoidable accident.

We discovered the mayhem of Queen Street was entirely avoidable. Mr Clarke had a medical history that included blackouts in his employment driving buses and trucks. The council’s operational guidance for crews, and the deployment of heavy vehicles in busy streets during the Christmas period, were questionable. It took a Fatal Accident Inquiry for these matters to emerge.

The scrutiny brought to bear during evidence has rendered the authorities’ initial responses inappropriate and wrong.

Now we are to have another FAI, long-awaited since November 2013 when a police helicopter smashed into the Clutha bar, killing seven customers, the pilot and two police crew. Serious questions arise from the painstakingly detailed report of the Air Accident Investigations Bureau, published last week, not least: “Who was to blame?”

For the first time it seemed that fingers could be pointed to one man, pilot David Traill. The AAIB says he received and acknowledged several low fuel warnings, and even appears to have switched off the fuel supply to both engines.

This seems bizarre, inexplicable behaviour for a pilot with an impressive and lengthy record; an apparently open-and-shut case of recklessness from a man who sadly cannot dispute the conclusions or explain his actions posthumously. Why bother with an inquiry, with such a thorough report completed? Was Mr Traill reckless or just plain wrong when he flew on, apparently headed for home base at Finnieston?

And yet, and yet. The AAIB report inadvertently raises questions about the deployment of the helicopter. While there is no doubt the aircraft is an invaluable tool to the police, its use on the night of the tragedy is surprising.

Mr Traill flew to Dalkeith to participate in a “routine” surveillance operation. Returning to Glasgow, he was diverted to three different points in Lanarkshire – Bothwell, Uddingston and Bargeddie – for similar “routine” work. This took a total of just eight minutes, during which the fuel warnings occurred. There was no communication between aircraft and control during that period.

We know nothing about the work. Hovering just two to three minutes over each site, what can possibly have been gained? Were the three searches connected? A two-minute deployment seems unlikely to yield useful information. Was it “routine” for a police helicopter to be called in for what may have been cursory, highly speculative activities?

There is some evidence fuel warnings were not new to Mr Traill and his colleagues. There appears to have been niggly problems with sensors in the warning systems of this Eurocopter 135 model.

So here is a scenario: A crew on an evening shift heading 50 miles back to base, gets diverted to three different “routine” searches in Lanarkshire. Possibly tired, almost certainly distracted, perhaps they were not bothered much about a dodgy warning light, especially if they believed there was enough fuel.

This does not explain why fuel switches were turned off, nor the lack of a mayday call as first one then both engines flamed out over the east end of Glasgow. But it does point to the helicopter – a prized possession of Police Scotland – being called upon a little too often. Surely an expensive item like this would be used for major operations, and not “routine”?

Yesterday we learned Police Scotland's new helicopter will be fitted with a black box recorder as recommended by the AAIB and demanded by some relatives.

But the bereaved and injured of the Clutha community, and those left behind by Mr Traill and the crew, will seek a lot more answers from the coming FAI.