France: Airbus, Air France ruled not liable for 2009 crash

A French court on Monday cleared Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter tied to the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 from Rio to Paris in 2009. 

The Paris court exonerated the two companies, saying that even if errors had been committed, still "no certain causal link" between those errors and the accident "could be proven."The case seeking a mainly symbolic sanction had been brought by the families of the victims in a legal battle lasting years. As the verdict was read out the families briefly stood up as if stunned, but then took their seats again. 

Conviction was considered unlikely prior to Monday's ruling. The companies maintained they were not guilty of wrongdoing or negligence throughout the trial.

State prosecutors had concluded in 2019 that it was "impossible" to meet the burden of proof to convict in the case and recommended dropping the charges, to the dismay of the claimants. But in 2021, a Paris appeals court overturned this decision and ordered the trial to go ahead. 

The two companies only risked a comparatively small fine of €225,000 (roughly $250,000) if convicted, but the reputational symbolism of avoiding the ruling was deemed valuable. 

What happened in the 2009 crash?

Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. Inconsistent air speed indications in a storm led to the pilots inadvertently stalling the Airbus A330-200. 

All 216 passengers and 12 crew were killed. It was the deadliest crash in Air France's history and in the history of the A330. People from all over the world were on board, among them 72 from France, 59 from Brazil and 26 from Germany.

The first pieces of wreckage and the first bodies were pulled from the water within days, but the search for the so-called "black box" recorders deep on the ocean floor would last two years. 

France's BEA aviation authority found in its final report that the likely cause of the crash was ice crystals obstructing the plane's pitot tubes, which gather readings to indicate air speed. The incorrect readings caused alarms to sound in the cockpit of the Airbus and the autopilot system to switch off. The plane then climbed, lost speed and went into a stall.

Companies say pilot error likely decisive

Airbus pointed to pilot error as the main cause of the crash, arguing that the crew's subsequent efforts to put the plane into a climb was a poor decision and contributed to the aerodynamic stall.

"For us, what led the crew to react in the way they did remains a mystery in most respects," Air France representative Pascal Weil, a former test pilot, told the court as a witness on November 10.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard the cockpit communications from the moments before the crash. 

"We've lost our speeds," one pilot could be heard saying before an automated warning message sounded saying "stall, stall, stall" and the aircraft began its plunge. 

Daniele Lamy, president of the association which represents the victims said the families did not accept the prosecutors' recommendation to drop the charges, saying it was essentially blaming the pilots rather than the companies. 

"What we hope, what we expect, is that the court finally pronounces an impartial decision and condemns Airbus and Air France, who are guilty of the negligence and failures," she said. "This is what we have fought for over almost 14 years." 

Airbus and Air France's lawyers meanwhile argued that acquittal was a "difficult decision from a human point of view, but technically and legally justified."