A French appeals court on Thursday convicted Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter over the 2009 crash of Flight AF447, which killed 228 people in France’s deadliest aviation disaster.
The ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision issued in 2023, which had cleared both companies of criminal responsibility.
The appeals court ruled that the airline and aircraft manufacturer were “solely and entirely responsible for the crash of flight AF447”, ordering each company to pay a fine of 225,000 euros, the maximum penalty for corporate manslaughter.
Although the fines are largely symbolic, the verdict represents a major reputational setback for both companies.
Court overturns earlier acquittal
Air France and Airbus had consistently denied criminal liability, arguing that pilot error caused the disaster.
However, presiding judge Sylvie Madec said the earlier court failed to properly consider the chain of events that led to the deaths of all passengers and crew members.
“The AF447 crash was a disaster waiting to happen, and one that could have been avoided if each of the companies involved had fully grasped the seriousness of the failure,” she said.
Airbus confirmed it would appeal against the ruling, while Air France did not immediately respond publicly.
The families of the victims welcomed the court’s decision after a legal battle that lasted 17 years.
Daniele Lamy, head of an association representing victims’ families, said the ruling finally recognised “the pain of the families faced with a collective tragedy of unbearable brutality”.
He added that the decision marked the first time multinational aerospace companies had been convicted in such a case, placing aviation safety above economic interests.
Crash killed all 228 on board
On June 1, 2009, Flight AF447 was travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when the aircraft lost control over the Atlantic Ocean and crashed into the sea.
There were no survivors among the 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the Airbus A330 aircraft.
The victims included 72 French nationals and 58 Brazilians.
Although prosecutors had initially requested that charges be dropped in 2023, they later appealed the acquittal. The appeal trial lasted eight weeks between September and December last year.
Lawyer Olivier Morice, representing the civil parties, described the verdict as “a great source of satisfaction”.
He noted that the judgement exceeded 400 pages and involved highly technical findings.
Court highlights failures in training and safety
Lawyers representing the victims’ families argued that both Air France and Airbus were aware of problems involving the aircraft’s pitot tubes, which measure flight speed.
According to evidence presented in court, the tubes became blocked by ice crystals during a storm over the Atlantic, triggering cockpit alarms and disconnecting the autopilot system.
Experts told the court that after the instruments malfunctioned, the pilots placed the aircraft into a climb that eventually caused it to stall and crash into the ocean.
The appeals court found Airbus responsible for underestimating the seriousness of the sensor problems and for failing to properly inform airline crews.
Air France was found guilty of inadequate pilot training and failing to sufficiently prepare flight crews for such emergencies.
The court acknowledged that pilot errors may have occurred during the final four minutes and 30 seconds before the crash, but concluded that the crew had not been adequately trained to handle the highly complex situation.
“The pilots of AF447 truly tried everything to get out of this absolutely dreadful situation,” the judge said.
“They went as far as their abilities allowed, and nothing can be held against them.”
