Air France and Airbus again judged

Fourteen years later, the verdict will finally be rendered for the Rio-Paris crash trial. After nine weeks of hearing at the end of 2021 and four months of deliberations, this judgment will settle the question of the liability of Air France and Airbus. Tried for manslaughter, the European manufacturer and the French company contest any criminal responsibility. Epilogue of a tragedy that dates back to June 1, 2009, when an Airbus A330 chartered by Air France took off four hours earlier from Rio, destination Paris. On board, 228 people including 61 French passengers. Six days later, the first wreckage of the plane and about fifty bodies were found in the open sea, but the wreckage remained untraceable. It will finally be located two years later, at a depth of 3,900 meters.

Fine of up to 225,000 euros

The following questions then arise: did Air France sufficiently train its crews and did Airbus underestimate the seriousness of the probe problem? After a decade of expertise, the investigating judges had dismissed the case in 2019. Two years later, after appeal, the general prosecutor’s office had demanded the dismissal of Air France and Airbus before the judges. The prosecution then requested the release of the two companies, considering that the guilt was impossible to demonstrate. But Monday, April 17, the court could either condemn Air France and Airbus definitively, or release the two companies. They each incur a fine of 225,000 euros.