Verdict due in Rio-Paris plane crash appeals case • FRANCE 24 English

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]A court in France is due to deliver a verdict in an appeal trial of Air France and Airbus over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash. It was the worst disaster in the French flag carrier's history. Three years ago, both the airline and Airbus were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter when a court found that the companies had made mistakes but couldn't prove they caused the crash. For victims' families, the appeal trial is seen as a last resort. We can now go across to Emerald Maxwell covering the story for us. Emerald, good afternoon.

[00:00:32]What's at stake for Air France and Airbus here?

[00:00:38]Well, primarily it's reputational damage. That's what's at stake for Airbus and Air France because as legal entities, the two companies actually only face a 225,000 euro fine each if they're found if they're convicted for criminal liability.

[00:00:56]Um What is what they really don't want to get is that significant reputational damage for what was in fact the worst crash in French aviation history that led to the deaths of 228 228 people, passengers and crew, everyone on board over the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.

[00:01:16]The prosecution says that that crash was down to gross negligence on the companies. They've called the defense of Airbus and Air France indecent and they say a conviction would serve as a warning to the two companies.

[00:01:29]Um Emerald, I mentioned that the two companies were acquitted back in 2023. What could make a difference this time around?

[00:01:40]Well, this new appeal trial actually yielded no new evidence. What is different is the interpretation of the facts.

[00:01:48]The the whole case has been much debated and it revolves around technical faults and pilot error.

[00:01:55]Both companies deny criminal liability.

[00:01:58]They say that pilot error was the decisive factor which led to the crash.

[00:02:03]But of course, when they found those two black boxes two years after the crash at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, they saw that there had been a problem with the pitot tubes which are the speed sensors. There had been a fault there and that the pilots reacted. They didn't know what was going on and that led to the crash. Airbus, they prosecution says, Airbus underestimated the significant the seriousness of these faulty pitot tubes as they were aware of it. They failed to inform the crews about it and they say that Air France failed to give them adequate training about what to do in the conditions that they found themselves when those pitot tubes froze over at high altitude and in difficult weather conditions. The question is, is this enough to determine negligence this negligence? Is it enough to determine is it decisive enough to show that the two companies are criminal have criminal liability?