French court finds Airbus, Air France guilty of manslaughter in 2009 crash

Key points

• Airbus says it plans to appeal the ruling, which overturned a 2023 acquittal of both companies.
• A French appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of manslaughter in 2009 Rio de Janeiro-Paris crash that killed 228 people – the worst aviation disaster in the country’s history.
• The Paris Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that both companies were “solely and entirely responsible for the crash of flight AF447”, and ordered a payment of 225,000 euros ($261,720) for each passenger, the maximum fine possible for corporate manslaughter.
• Although the penalties are largely symbolic, they capped an eight-week trial that victims’ families saw as a last chance to find justice two years after a lower court acquitted Airbus and Air France.
• Both companies have repeatedly denied all charges.