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A French appeals court on Thursday convicted both Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter regarding the 2009 Rio-Paris flight crash that claimed 228 lives.
The Paris Court of Appeal ruling marks a dramatic reversal of a 2023 lower court acquittal, which had cleared the companies of criminal liability.
The court declared the French airline and the aerospace manufacturer entirely responsible for the worst aviation disaster in France’s history, ordering each corporation to pay the maximum corporate manslaughter fine of 225,000 euros ($261,000).
While the financial penalties are largely symbolic, the verdict inflicts severe reputational damage on both industry giants.
The tragic incident occurred on June 1, 2009, when Air France Flight AF447, an Airbus A330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, encountered a severe mid-Atlantic storm.
Ice crystals blocked the aircraft’s pitot tubes, which are used to measure airspeed, causing the autopilot system to suddenly disconnect and alarms to blare in the cockpit.
Confused by the sudden instrument failure, the pilots pulled the aircraft into a steep climb, causing a high-altitude aerodynamic stall that sent the plane plunging into the ocean in less than five minutes. All 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board were killed.
While both companies previously blamed pilot error, the appeals court ruled that the disaster was entirely avoidable.
The presiding judge emphasised that the lower court had ignored the causal chain leading up to the crash, stating that the pilots were utterly unprepared for such an extremely complex failure.
The court held Airbus accountable for underestimating known sensor malfunctions and failing to warn airlines, while Air France was convicted for failing to provide adequate emergency training to its flight crews.
Representative associations for the French victims praised the ruling for piercing corporate pride, though some families in Brazil expressed deep frustration that no individual executives were held personally accountable.
Both companies have already announced their intention to appeal the decision.
