AN AIRLINE and aircraft manufacturer have been found guilty of corporate manslaughter over a 2009 plane crash which killed 228 people – including a man from Gourock.
Graham Gardner lost his life when the Air France flight hit a storm over the Atlantic Ocean during a journey from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009.
The 52-year-old, who was master of a pipe-laying and construction vessel at the time, was on his way home from a work trip.
Mr Gardner had been working in Rio for four years prior to his death, spending alternating months in Scotland and Brazil.
His body was recovered and identified in the weeks following the crash.
Mr Gardner was one of five British people on board the Airbus A330, which was also carrying three Irish passengers.
Air France and manufacturer Airbus were cleared of involuntary manslaughter by a court in Paris in April 2023.
But at an appeal court hearing on Thursday, both companies were found guilty of corporate manslaughter. The companies had denied the charges.
Following today’s conviction, Air France and Airbus were each ordered to pay the maximum fine of €225,000.
Mr Gardner’s seafaring career spanned more than 30 years.
At the time of his death, he was serving as captain of a Brazil-based ship operated by oil and gas firm Subsea 7.
A book of remembrance compiled by the company after the crash featured messages from crew members he had worked with throughout his career.
In June 2009, Mr Gardner’s wife Joyce, who has since passed away, told the Telegraph her husband was a ‘loving, caring and laid back man’.
She added: “Graham was very supportive and always there for me when I needed him.
“Although we don’t have children, he was very much a family man and loved playing with all the children in our extended family.
“He was just a big kid at heart.”