More than 16 years after the crash of an „Air France“ plane flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris and killing all 228 people on board, the airline and manufacturer „Airbus“ will be tried again on charges of involuntary manslaughter, DPA reported, BTA reports.
The Paris Court of Appeal is reopening the trial today. If the two companies are found guilty, they could face fines of up to 225,000 euros. „Air France“ and „Airbus“ categorically deny responsibility about the tragedy.
Flight AF447 disappeared from radar on June 1, 2009, after encountering a storm en route from Rio de Janeiro to the French capital. It later became clear that the Airbus A330 had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. For years, the cause of the crash remained unknown, with the bodies of the last victims and the black boxes only being found in May 2011. Investigators concluded that the speedometers had frozen and were not showing reliable data, which led to confusion among the pilots.
The crash remains the deadliest in the history of „Air France“.
In 2023, both companies were acquitted of manslaughter charges. At the time, the court accepted that although „Air France“ and “Airbus“ may have been negligent or reckless in some aspects, these omissions are not directly causally related to the crash.
Following an appeal by the prosecutor's office, the retrial of the case begins today.