Air France and Airbus are set to face a new trial over the 2009 crash of a Rio‑Paris flight that killed 228 people. The trial begins on Monday, two years after the companies were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter. On 1 June 2009, Air France flight AF447, an Airbus‑built A330, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 216 passengers and 12 crew members perished, including 72 French nationals and 58 Brazilians, making it the worst disaster in Air France’s history.
The initial trial focused on defective pitot tubes, which measure flight speed. Ice crystals during a mid‑Atlantic storm caused the tubes to malfunction, triggering cockpit alarms and disengaging the autopilot. The pilots responded by putting the aircraft into a climb, leading to a stall and the subsequent crash. Air France and Airbus attributed the accident to pilot error and denied criminal liability. However, lawyers for the victims’ families argued that both companies knew about the pitot‑tube problem before the crash and failed to provide adequate pilot training for such an emergency.
The court found that Airbus had committed four acts of imprudence or negligence, including failing to replace certain pitot‑tube models and withholding information from flight operators. Air France was found to have committed two acts of imprudence in its dissemination of information about the faulty tubes to pilots. Despite these findings, the court ruled that the causal link between these failings and the accident was not strong enough to establish an offense, resulting in an acquittal that outraged the victims’ families, who felt the companies had been let off too easily.
The prosecution has lodged an appeal, allowing the full legal appeals process to proceed. If convicted, Air France and Airbus could face fines of up to €225,000 and suffer significant reputational damage. The appeals trial is expected to conclude on 27 November. The case underscores the ongoing quest for justice and accountability after the tragic crash and will be closely watched by the victims’ families and the aviation industry alike.
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