Airbus and Air France have gone on trial facing manslaughter charges over a crash in which a Scot died. Graham Gardner died in the 2009 disaster while he was trying to get home early to see his family.
Tragically, the 52-year-old merchant seaman was on the doomed AF447 flight from Brazil after he swapped flights. The Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight plunged into the Atlantic amid thunderstorms, killing all 228 people on board and leading to changes in air safety regulations.
The worst plane crash in Air France history killed people of 33 nationalities, and families from around the world are among the plaintiffs in the case. They have fought for more than a decade to see the case come to trial.
At the time of the crash, Graham’s wife Joyce, then 51, said: “The time we had together was precious because Graham was on a month-on, month-off contract.”
Joyce, from Gourock, Renfrewshire, paid tribute to her “loving, caring” husband, who lived all his life in the Greenock area and had been in the Merchant Navy since leaving the town’s high school.
She said: “Graham was always there for me. Although we don’t have children, he was a family man and loved playing with the children in our extended family. He was a big kid at heart.
“I’m sure I can speak for everyone who knew him, whether family, friend or colleague, in saying that he will be missed dearly.”
Human resources co-ordinator Joyce and Graham knew each other since childhood and became a couple 10 years after leaving school. They married in 2001.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury and Air France head Anne Rigail were among those at the courthouse yesterday. Both companies deny criminal wrongdoing, though Air France has already compensated the families of those killed.
If convicted, each company faces potential fines of up to £197,438, a fraction of their annual revenues.
No-one risks prison as only the companies are on trial. The trial in Paris continues and is expected to last nine weeks.
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