Paris appeals court finds Airbus, Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over 2009 crash
The court ordered each company to pay €225,000 after prosecutors said poor training and missed warnings helped cause the disaster.
- On Wednesday, a Paris appeals court found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris crash that killed 228 passengers and crew, ordering each company to pay €225,000 .
- BEA investigators concluded in 2012 the crew pushed the Airbus A330 into a stall after mishandling iced-up sensors, while prosecutors cited poor training and lack of follow-up on prior incidents as internal failures.
- Relatives of the 228 passengers gathered to hear the verdict after their 17-year legal battle, which relied on black boxes recovered two years after the 2009 crash to demonstrate how negligence caused the disaster.
- Critics dismissed the €225,000 fines as a 'token penalty' amounting to minutes of either company's revenue, though both Airbus and Air France have repeatedly denied the allegations throughout proceedings.
- Legal experts predict further appeals to the country's highest court, a process expected to drag on for years more, as the legal focus will shift to intricacies of French law beyond the cockpit evidence.
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On Thursday, the Paris Court of Appeal found Air France and Airbus guilty of manslaughter for the 2009 air disaster, which had killed 228 people.
Airbus, Air France found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 crash
Airbus and Air France say they will appeal to France's highest court. Photo: Getty Images Airbus and Air France have been found guilty of corporate manslaughter over the Rio-Paris plane crash, but a 17-year legal battle over France's worst aviation disaster is set to continue.
The Paris Court of Appeal found aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Air France guilty of manslaughter in connection with the crash of flight AF447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009. This is reported by BBC News.
Sydney Morning Herald
Airbus, Air France found guilty of manslaughter over crash that killed 228 people
Hundreds of people perished in 2009 when an Airbus A330 plunged in pitch darkness into the Atlantic Ocean during an equatorial storm.
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