France Air France and Airbus sentenced for Rio-Paris death flight
In the appeal proceedings surrounding the crash of an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in 2009 with 228 fatalities, the judges have found the airline and aircraft manufacturer Airbus guilty.
21.05.2026, 14:13
SDA
The Court of Appeal in Paris convicted both companies of negligent homicide and imposed a fine of 225,000 euros each. The court ruled that the airline and the aircraft manufacturer were solely responsible for the crash and the damages.
On June 1, 2009, the Air France aircraft on flight AF 447 was caught in a storm front on its way from Brazil to the French capital and disappeared from the radar screens. The Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic. It was not until May 2011 that the last bodies and the flight data recorder were recovered from a depth of around 4,000 meters.
Icy probes and unprepared pilots
Specifically, Airbus was accused in the lawsuit of having underestimated the consequences of a failure of the probes responsible for measuring speed. These were iced up during the flight. According to the indictment, Air France did not adequately train its pilots and prepare them for an extreme situation such as the one that occurred on the ill-fated flight. In 2012, an expert report had ruled that the crew had been overwhelmed by the situation, which was actually manageable.
At first instance, Air France and Airbus were acquitted of the charge of negligent homicide two years ago. The court had ruled at the time that although they had acted negligently or carelessly in some cases, a clear causal link to the accident could not be established. Nevertheless, the ruling stated that incidents involving the probes had not been adequately followed up by Airbus and that information had been withheld. Air France could have better informed its pilots of problems with the probes, it said.
Long legal tug-of-war
The court also found that the companies were liable under civil law. Air France and Airbus had denied responsibility for the fatal flight. The public prosecutor's office appealed against the first-instance decision. In the appeal proceedings, they now demanded a conviction.
The legal investigation dragged on for many years after the crash. The fact that there was a trial at all in 2022 was a success for the bereaved. As recently as 2019, investigating judges had dismissed proceedings.
