• A Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio–Paris crash, which killed 228 passengers and crew in France’s deadliest aviation disaster.
• The court ordered both companies to pay the maximum fine of €225,000 each, overturning a 2023 lower court ruling that had cleared them of criminal responsibility.
• The verdict follows a 17-year legal battle.

Airbus and Air France have been found guilty of corporate manslaughter in the 2009 ⁠Rio-Paris ​plane crash ⁠that killed 228 passengers and ⁠crew in France’s ​worst ⁠air disaster, according to The Independent.

A Paris appeals court on Wednesday ordered both companies to pay a maximum fine of €225,000 each, marking a significant milestone in a 17-year legal battle. Relatives of the passengers and crew who died when the Airbus A330 vanished in darkness during ​an Atlantic storm gathered to hear the verdict, following the eight-week trial.

In 2023, a lower court had cleared the two companies, both of which ​have repeatedly denied the charges. The maximum fines, amounting to just a few minutes of either company’s ​revenue, have been widely dismissed as a token penalty. But family groups have said a conviction would represent ‌a recognition ⁠of their plight.

Air France and Airbus found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash https://t.co/AIJzR69Q4o

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 21, 2026

The Airbus A330 vanished from radars during a storm on 1 June 2009, with its wreckage found after a long search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor. The black box was found after months of deep-sea searches in 2011.

All 12 crew members and 216 passengers on board the flight were killed when the plane crashed into the sea from a height of 38,000ft (11,580m), making it the deadliest incident in French aviation history.

Crash Rio-Paris : Airbus et Air France condamnés en appel pour homicides involontaires.

Les deux entreprises, relaxées en première instance, ont été condamnées à des amendes de 225 000 €.

La cour a déclaré les entreprises “seuls et entièrement responsables” de l’accident… pic.twitter.com/CaepH5Wz8g

— air plus news (@airplusnews) May 21, 2026

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