The Paris Court of Appeal has found Air France and Airbus guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the crash of Air France Flight 447, in which all 228 people on board were killed in 2009. According to AeroTime, the ruling was delivered on May 21, 2026, and marks a major turn in a legal case that has lasted 17 years.
The court ordered both companies to pay the maximum fine of EUR 225,000 each, or around USD 261,000. Although the amount is symbolic for companies the size of Air France and Airbus, families of the victims see the verdict as an important recognition of responsibility after almost two decades of legal proceedings.
Air France Flight 447 departed Rio de Janeiro for Paris on June 1, 2009. The Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 local time while flying through an area of stormy weather. The accident killed 216 passengers and 12 crew members, with those on board coming from 33 countries. It remains the deadliest accident in the history of French civil aviation.
After disappearing from radar screens, the aircraft sank into the Atlantic Ocean. Some wreckage was recovered by the Brazilian Navy shortly after the crash, but the flight recorders were not found until 2011, following an extensive deep-sea search covering around 10,000 square kilometers.
French investigators determined that ice crystals had blocked the pitot tubes, the sensors used to measure the aircraft’s airspeed. This led to the autopilot disconnecting and inconsistent airspeed data appearing in the cockpit. The crew responded incorrectly to the situation, and the aircraft entered a stall from which the pilots were unable to recover.
The final report linked the accident to a combination of technical issues, insufficient crew training for such a scenario, and poor communication between the pilots in the cockpit. Prosecutors argued during the proceedings that both Air France and Airbus had been negligent, including through shortcomings in training and insufficient follow-up on earlier incidents involving similar sensor malfunctions.
A lower court acquitted both companies in April 2023, but under the French legal system, the appeal process involved a new trial and a fresh review of all evidence. The Court of Appeal has now reached the opposite conclusion.
Following the ruling, Airbus issued a statement from Toulouse saying it acknowledged the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal and the company’s conviction in connection with the AF447 accident. The manufacturer again expressed its deepest sympathies and, as it stated, its unwavering support for the families and loved ones of the victims. Airbus said that from the outset it had pursued a constant objective: to understand the facts, seek the truth, draw all necessary lessons, and act responsibly to continue improving aviation safety.
In the same statement, Airbus said the Court of Appeal’s decision contradicts the submissions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the conclusions of the dismissal order issued by the investigating judges in 2019, the prosecution’s position at first instance, and the acquittal judgment delivered in 2023. Airbus therefore announced that it would appeal with the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court for criminal and civil matters, to allow a judicial review of the legal questions raised by the case.
Airbus further emphasized that flight safety is the company’s absolute priority and lies at the heart of its identity, industrial operations, and the work of its employees, from aircraft design through to operation. The manufacturer said it owes this commitment to the millions of passengers and crew members who place their trust in Airbus aircraft every day.
According to AeroTime, Air France has not yet announced whether it will also appeal the ruling.
