Airbus and Air France found guilty of manslaughter in 2009 crash

French Appeals Court Finds Airbus and Air France Guilty of Manslaughter in 2009 Crash

A French appeals court has ruled that both Airbus and Air France are responsible for the manslaughter of 228 people who died in a 2009 plane crash. The Paris Court of Appeal found the companies “solely and entirely responsible” for the crash of flight AF447, which occurred on June 1, 2009, as it was traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

The court ordered Airbus and Air France to pay a total of €450,000 ($511,440) in damages, with each passenger receiving €225,000. The ruling comes after an eight-week trial that concluded on Thursday.

Airbus has announced its intention to appeal the decision, stating that it contradicts previous submissions from prosecutors and a 2023 acquittal. Prosecutors had previously warned of an appeal and criticized the companies’ behavior throughout the legal process.

The crash occurred when flight AF447 disappeared from radar screens during a mid-Atlantic storm. Investigators found that the pilots had pushed the jet into a climb as it struggled with malfunctioning sensors, which were blocked by ice. The plane stalled and crashed into the ocean.

Airbus and Air France have previously denied any wrongdoing, blaming pilot error for the crash. However, lawyers for passengers’ families argued that both companies knew about a problem with the plane’s pitot tubes, which measure flight speed, and failed to provide adequate training for pilots to deal with such an emergency.

Source: Al Jazeera