1er June 2009, the Rio-Paris flight crashed into the Atlantic, claiming the lives of 228 people. More than 13 years later, Airbus and Air France, tried in Paris for manslaughter, reaffirmed on Monday that they had not committed any “fault” in connection with the crash, angering the relatives of the families of victims.
This trial, heavy with stakes for the European aircraft manufacturer, the French company, the families of the victims, but also for the world air transport, must last until December 8 at the Paris Criminal Court.
Flight AF447 between Rio de Janeiro and Paris crashed in the middle of the night, a few hours after takeoff, killing its 216 passengers and 12 crew members. This is the deadliest disaster in the history of Air France.
The first debris of the A330 as well as bodies were quickly found, but the wreckage and the black boxes were not found until two years later, fished out from 3900 meters deep after five phases of underwater searches.
The investigation showed that the pilots, disoriented by the icing of the Pitot speed probes in the unstable meteorological zone of the Doldrums, were unable to recover from the stall of the aircraft, which took place in less than five minutes.
After a succession of highly technical expertise, the investigating judges finally dismissed the case in 2019.
The prosecution, the relatives of victims and the pilots’ unions appealed and, in 2021, the investigating chamber ruled in the opposite direction, ordering a trial for the two companies.
After detailing the offenses charged, the three judges read the names of each victim on Monday in the large silent courtroom, filled with relatives of victims, experts and business representatives.
The president of the court, Sylvie Daunis, then gave the floor to the general manager of Air France, Anne Rigail. “I stand before you to express, on behalf of Air France, our deepest sympathy for the loved ones of the victims,” said the official.
This accident “forever marks the collective history of our company. It is an unparalleled and unprecedented drama,” continued Mr.me Rigail, who assured that the company would “continue to collaborate” with justice.
However, she maintained that the company “did not commit any criminal fault at the origin of the accident”.
” Shame on you ! »
“This in no way calls into question the awareness we have of the magnitude of this disaster, as well as of the pain that will remain forever in our memories,” she added, prompting an exclamation on the benches of the civil parties. .
In turn, the CEO of Airbus stood up. “I wanted to be present here first to show my deep respect, my deep consideration for the families and loved ones of the victims,” began Guillaume Faury.
“Finally and too late! exclaimed the president of the association Entraide et Solidarité AF447, Danièle Lamy, sitting in the room. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for 13 years. It’s a shame, sir, shame on you! launched the vice-president of this association, Philippe Linguet.
“Our mission is that all the people who get on an Airbus can get off the plane at the end of the flight in good health”, continued Mr. Faury, specifying that “10,000 Airbus” fly in the world and carry “five million passengers a day”.
“Unjustified complaints”
He indicated that the company had put in place an “organization” and a “governance” in order to “be as close as possible to zero accidents”, ensuring that “safety was (its) priority”.
“We sincerely believe that these grievances are unjustified,” he also said.
Leaving the hearing, Mr. Linguet explained that he had “exploded” in the face of the “lack of empathy” from the head of Airbus, saying that it had been “13 years” that the company “despised” the victims.
“He talked about numbers […], but that is not what is being asked of him. What we are asking of him is our 228 passengers (and crew) who today are missing”, he got carried away, judging it “totally irrelevant”.
In the A330 registered F-GZCP were people of 33 different nationalities, including 72 French (61 passengers and 11 crew members), 58 Brazilians and 26 Germans.
A total of 476 relatives of victims have joined as civil parties. Five half-days will be devoted to those wishing to testify.