Air France and Airbus negligent in some respects in plane crash in 2009 | Economy

By our economics editors

Apr 17, 2023 at 3:30 PMUpdate: 5 minutes ago

Airline Air France and aircraft manufacturer Airbus are not to blame for the crash in 2009, in which a plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. A French court ruled that on Monday.

Air France’s Airbus A330 was on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris almost fourteen years ago. During the flight, the aircraft ran into problems. The crash into the sea killed all 228 people on board.

Relatives of the 12 crew members and 216 passengers had sued Airbus and Air France for wrongful death. The pilots did not react well when screens in the cockpit showed the wrong speed. That was because the speedometers were frozen. The autopilot had also failed.

Before the crash, other pilots had already reported the problem with the frozen pitot tubes of Airbus A330 aircraft. The tubes were replaced worldwide in the months following the accident. The crash also prompted a review of pilot training protocols.

The court has determined that the companies were negligent on some points. But that negligence is not serious enough for a conviction. “A probable causal relationship is not sufficient,” the court finds.

It was the first time that companies had been tried for wrongful death. The maximum penalty is a fine of 225,000 euros.

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