Paris Appeals Court Convicts Air France, Airbus in AF447 Crash

A Paris appeals court has convicted Air France and Airbus of corporate manslaughter for the 2009 crash of Flight AF447, which killed all 228 people on board. The ruling on Thursday follows a 17-year legal battle by victims' families and overturns a 2023 acquittal by a lower court.

The court imposed the maximum possible fine of 225,000 euros on each company. While the financial penalty is small relative to the corporations' revenues, family groups have stated that a conviction represents a crucial recognition of their loss and the companies' roles in the disaster.

Flight AF447, an Airbus A330 operated by Air France, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The wreckage was located two years later. A 2012 investigation concluded that the aircraft stalled and crashed after the crew mishandled a malfunction caused by ice crystals blocking the plane's pitot tubes, which measure airspeed.

Prosecutors argued that both companies bore criminal responsibility. They alleged Airbus had underestimated the seriousness of repeated pitot tube failures and failed to properly warn airlines, while Air France had not provided adequate training...