Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of corporate manslaughter for the 2009 Rio-Paris flight AF447 crash that killed all 228 people on board. The Paris Appeals Court ruled that the airline and aircraft manufacturer were "solely and entirely responsible" for the incident, which occurred when the passenger jet stalled during a storm and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Court Reverses Earlier Acquittal
In April 2023, a previous court had cleared both companies of the charges. However, after an eight-week trial, the appeals court delivered a guilty verdict on Thursday. Both Air France and Airbus have consistently denied the allegations and announced their intention to appeal the ruling.
The crash, which occurred on June 1, 2009, remains the deadliest in French aviation history. All 12 crew members and 216 passengers from 33 countries perished when the aircraft fell from an altitude of 38,000 feet (11,580 meters) into the ocean.
Recovery and Investigation
The wreckage was located after an extensive search covering 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) of seabed. The flight recorder was not recovered until 2011, following months of deep-sea operations. In the first 26 days of searching, 51 bodies were retrieved, many still strapped into their seats.
The passengers included 61 French nationals, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, two Americans, five Britons, and three Irish nationals, among others.
Reactions to the Verdict
Relatives of victims gathered to hear the verdict. Daniele Lamy, president of the AF447 victims' association, who lost her son in the accident, praised the court's decision, stating that the justice system was "at last, taking into account the pain of the families faced with a collective tragedy of unbearable brutality."
The court ordered each company to pay the maximum fine of €225,000 ($261,720; £194,500). Some victims' families criticized this amount as a token penalty, arguing it does not reflect the gravity of the loss.
Prosecution's Arguments
During closing arguments in November, deputy prosecutors described the companies' behavior as "unacceptable," accusing them of "spouting nonsense and pulling arguments out of thin air." The ruling is expected to damage the reputations of both Air France and Airbus.
The crash led to a complex recovery operation in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean, more than 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) from the South American coast. The French government initially investigated the crash, while Brazilian forces led body recovery efforts.
