Airbus, Air France found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash

European aircraft manufacturing company, Airbus, and Air France have been found guilty of manslaughter charges over the plane crash that killed 228 passengers in 2009.

In a judgment on Thursday, the Paris Appeals Court ruled that both Airbus and Air France were culpable of corporate manslaughter over the incident after a lower court in 2023 cleared the two companies of wrongdoing. 

On June 1, 2029, flight AF447 was on a route journey between Rio de Janeiro and Paris when the passenger jet suddenly stalled during a storm before crashing into the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone onboard in what was described as the deadliest air crash in France’s history.

The black box was found after months of deep-sea searches in 2011.

According to reports, the two companies have been ordered to pay a maximum of $261,720 each to the victims’ families, some of whom witnessed the sentencing on Thursday.

However, a few of them raised complaints about the amount asked to be paid as compensation, calling it a ‘token penalty.’

Airbus, in a statement in response to the verdict, stated that the company acknowledged the judgment, noting that it would file an appeal at France’s highest court. 

“Airbus notes that the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal contradicts the submissions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the conclusions of the dismissal order issued by the investigating judges in 2019, as well as the submissions of the Public Prosecution at first instance and the acquittal judgment delivered in 2023.

“Consequently, Airbus has decided to lodge an appeal with the Court of Cassation to allow for a judicial review of the legal questions raised by this case,” the company stated.