Air France and Airbus guilty of corporate manslaughter for 2009 plane crash
5 hours ago
- #AF447-crash-verdict
- #corporate-manslaughter
- #Airbus-Air-France-conviction
- Airbus and Air France convicted of corporate manslaughter for the 2009 Rio-Paris crash that killed 228 people, following a 17-year legal battle.
- Companies ordered to pay maximum fines of €225,000 each, seen as token penalties but viewed by victim families as recognition of their suffering.
- Prosecutors focused on negligence in training and follow-up on incidents; the 2012 investigation cited pilot error and iced sensors as factors.
- Verdict likely to be appealed to higher courts, potentially prolonging the legal process for years; a 2023 lower court ruling had acquitted both companies.
- Flight AF447 crashed June 1, 2009; black boxes recovered in 2011; crash involved 33 nationalities and is France's worst air disaster.