Air France and Airbus Found Guilty in AF447 Crash — Aviation Accident And Incident
Air France and Airbus were found guilty of manslaughter by the Paris Appeals Court in the 2009 aviation accident and incident involving Flight AF447, which killed 228 people when it stalled during a storm and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. The verdict came after an eight-week trial and follows a court ruling in April 2023 that had cleared both companies.
The court said the companies were “solely and entirely responsible,” and asked that each pay the maximum fine of €225,000. Both companies have repeatedly denied the charges and said they will appeal.
AF447 Families React
Daniele Lamy, president of the AF447 victims' association and a bereaved mother, praised the ruling “at last, taking into account the pain of the families faced with a collective tragedy of unbearable brutality.” Her reaction came after years of legal proceedings tied to the crash of the Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight.
The case has stayed central because the crash killed all 12 crew members and 216 passengers on board when the aircraft went down from a height of 38,000ft. The passengers came from 33 different countries, and the disaster remains the deadliest incident in French aviation history.
Search for AF447
The wreckage was found only after a long search of 10,000 sq km of sea floor, and the flight recorder was not recovered until 2011. The recovery operation took place in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean more than 700 miles from the coast of South America, adding to the difficulty of the case investigators later examined.
The companies now face the practical consequence of the guilty verdict and the fine request, while their appeal will determine whether the appeals court ruling stands. The families who waited through the April 2023 acquittal now have a new judgment to weigh against the companies’ stated plan to challenge it.
