# Air France and Airbus face French court over Rio-Paris crash
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-10-10
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: Air France and Airbus Face Manslaughter Trial for AF447
Meta Description: Follow the nine-week trial as details emerge of the tragic events leading to the A330 jet disaster, with implications for pilot training and sensor reliability.
URL: https://financedigest.com/air-france-and-airbus-face-french-court-over-rio-paris-crashhtml

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PARIS (Reuters) – Air France and Airbus face the start of a nine-week manslaughter trial on Monday, 13 years after an A330 jet plunged into the Atlantic killing all 228 people on board.

Flight 447 vanished in pitch darkness during an equatorial storm en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009.

After a two-year search for black boxes using remote submarines, investigators found pilots had mishandled the loss of data from iced-up sensors and pushed the 205-tonne jet into a freefall, without responding to repeated “stall” alerts.

But France’s BEA accident agency also revealed earlier discussions between [Air](https://www.financedigest.com/air-france-cancels-55-of-short-medium-haul-flights-sept-16-due-to-strike.html "Air France cancels 55% of short, medium-haul flights Sept. 16 due to strike") France and Airbus about the reliability of the probes, and said the airline had begun swapping to an improved version just six days before its worst ever disaster.

Experts [say the relative roles](https://www.financedigest.com/amazon-ceo-says-job-cuts-to-exceed-18000-roles.html "Amazon CEO says job cuts to exceed 18,000 roles") of pilot or sensor error will be key to the historic trial starting at 1130 GMT.

It is the first time French [companies face](https://www.financedigest.com/disconnected-customers-are-one-of-the-biggest-problems-facing-financial-companies.html "Disconnected customers are one of the biggest problems facing financial companies") trial for “involuntary manslaughter” following an air crash. Victims’ families say individual managers should also be in the dock.

The maximum [fine for either company](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-to-fine-tech-companies-that-fail-to-remove-self-harm-material.html "UK to fine tech companies that fail to remove self-harm material"), if convicted, is just 225,000 euros ($220,612). Undisclosed larger sums have also been made in compensation and out-of-court civil settlements.

Relatives of those who died, who were mainly French, Brazilian or German, have called for “impartial [justice” after campaigning to overturn an earlier decision](https://www.financedigest.com/court-fees-and-access-to-justice-the-impact-of-the-supreme-courts-decision-on-lenders.html "Court fees and access to justice:  the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on lenders") to shelve a trial.

The trial will air differences between Air France and Airbus over causes of the crash, with the planemaker blaming pilot error and the airline pointing to confusing displays and alarms.

AF447 sparked a rethink about training and technology and is seen as one of a handful of accidents that changed aviation, including [improvements in handling lost control](https://www.financedigest.com/german-regulator-calls-on-allianz-to-improve-controls-source.html "German regulator calls on Allianz to improve controls – source").

Centre-stage is the mystery of why the crew of three, with more that 20,000 hours of flying experience between them, failed to understand that the A330 had lost lift or “stalled”.

That required the basic manoeuvre of pushing the nose down instead of yanking it up as they did during much of the fatal four-minute plunge, creating even more error messages that fed off each other as the plane hurtled towards the Atlantic.

The BEA’s report said the pilots responded inappropriately to the icing problem, but also did not have training needed to fly manually at high altitude after the autopilot dropped out.

It also singled out erratic readings of a cockpit display called the flight director, which has since been redesigned to switch itself off in such events to avoid distraction.

Neither company commented ahead of the trial, which runs until Dec. 8 at the Paris Criminal Court.

[(Reporting by Tim](https://www.financedigest.com/tim-shares-slide-as-reported-grid-bids-disappoint.html "TIM shares slide as reported grid bids disappoint") Hepher; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)


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