> Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over a 2009 plane crash which killed 228 people.
> The Paris Appeals Court found the airline and aircraft manufacturer guilty of corporate manslaughter over the incident, in which a flight between Rio de Janeiro and Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
> The passenger jet stalled during a storm and plunged into the water, killing all on board.
> A court had previously cleared the companies in April 2023 but they were found guilty after this appeal.
Aluminautical on
Death penalty for both companies?
Loki-L on
I thought that was a broken sensor followed by pilot error when dealing with it.
ledow on
It is, as stated, a token amount.
They should be fined that amount PER PERSON that died, not overall.
troyinn on
It’s 2026 and it’s been 17 years. Why now?
Samski877 on
Seventeen years, 228 deaths and families still fighting for accountability.
Whatever the legal appeals ahead, this verdict is a reminder that corporate failures in aviation do not just disappear because enough time passes.
2EscapedCapybaras on
Until they start jailing executives for their company’s wrongdoing, nothing will change. Fines are just an accounting entry.
wilfersting on
Yeah. €225,000 per company for a crash that killed 228 people works out to under €1,000 per victim per company if you divide it that way…Justice they say…
UltimateAntic on
Hmm wasn’t this caused mostly by extreme pilot error?
hypnotoad23 on
So the French government found the French government guilty? And they called American pilots cowboys after AA 4184
YodaForceGhost on
Read up on this on Wikipedia and the accident was pilot error. Like one dude screwed up horribly and his idiocy cost hundreds of lives. Don’t see how the airline and manufacturer are to blame here
manwhothinks on
Meanwhile Boing: “Here I go killing again.”
olderlifter99 on
Awful accident. Pilots with thousands of hours couldn’t fly the damn plane!
Jean-Claude-Can-Ham on
“Delay, deny, defend”
OrgasmingPanda on
Sooo…wen jail?
12xubywire on
Are they putting air French in jail?
pattyG80 on
After reading the article, I am still wondering what air france and airbus are guilty of? What there a design flaw in the A330 that caused the crash?
dedsqwirl on
I watched a episode of Mayday/Air Disaster about this.
If the airspeed is unreliable they need to put the engines at 85% thrust and go 7 degrees nose up.
I do not fly and I have no idea why this stuck with me except all they needed to do were those two things and wait until the pitot tubes thawed out.
northern_ape on
Ah the disaster that made the world experts on pitot tubes.
Ok-Wait1836 on
So what’s the punishment for “corporate manslaughter”? Is anyone going to jail? Anyone at all forced to take responsibility? Or is it just symbolic?
Ninigi-no-Mikoto on
So how long does Airbus go to Prison for it?
gbspnl on
This one was traumatizing, I could not not think about this one when nearly 15 years later I had to do that route for the first time. So sad for the families
24 Comments
> Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over a 2009 plane crash which killed 228 people.
> The Paris Appeals Court found the airline and aircraft manufacturer guilty of corporate manslaughter over the incident, in which a flight between Rio de Janeiro and Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
> The passenger jet stalled during a storm and plunged into the water, killing all on board.
> A court had previously cleared the companies in April 2023 but they were found guilty after this appeal.
Death penalty for both companies?
I thought that was a broken sensor followed by pilot error when dealing with it.
It is, as stated, a token amount.
They should be fined that amount PER PERSON that died, not overall.
It’s 2026 and it’s been 17 years. Why now?
Seventeen years, 228 deaths and families still fighting for accountability.
Whatever the legal appeals ahead, this verdict is a reminder that corporate failures in aviation do not just disappear because enough time passes.
Until they start jailing executives for their company’s wrongdoing, nothing will change. Fines are just an accounting entry.
Yeah. €225,000 per company for a crash that killed 228 people works out to under €1,000 per victim per company if you divide it that way…Justice they say…
Hmm wasn’t this caused mostly by extreme pilot error?
So the French government found the French government guilty? And they called American pilots cowboys after AA 4184
Read up on this on Wikipedia and the accident was pilot error. Like one dude screwed up horribly and his idiocy cost hundreds of lives. Don’t see how the airline and manufacturer are to blame here
Meanwhile Boing: “Here I go killing again.”
Awful accident. Pilots with thousands of hours couldn’t fly the damn plane!
“Delay, deny, defend”
Sooo…wen jail?
Are they putting air French in jail?
After reading the article, I am still wondering what air france and airbus are guilty of? What there a design flaw in the A330 that caused the crash?
I watched a episode of Mayday/Air Disaster about this.
If the airspeed is unreliable they need to put the engines at 85% thrust and go 7 degrees nose up.
I do not fly and I have no idea why this stuck with me except all they needed to do were those two things and wait until the pitot tubes thawed out.
Ah the disaster that made the world experts on pitot tubes.
So what’s the punishment for “corporate manslaughter”? Is anyone going to jail? Anyone at all forced to take responsibility? Or is it just symbolic?
So how long does Airbus go to Prison for it?
This one was traumatizing, I could not not think about this one when nearly 15 years later I had to do that route for the first time. So sad for the families
Great! Now do Boeing
17 years later.