French court to rule on Air France, Airbus trial

PARIS, AFP May12, 2021 - A French court will rule Wednesday whether Air France and Airbus should stand trial over the 2009 crash of a Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight that killed all 228 people on board.   

Flight AF447 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean during a storm on June 1, 2009, the deadliest crash in Air France’s history.   

It took two years to find the wreckage of the Airbus A330 jet, which was eventually located by remote-controlled submarines at a depth of 3,900 metres (13,000 feet).   

Investigators determined the crash was caused by pilot errors, who were disorientated by faulty speed monitoring equipment.   

The general prosecutor’s office is seeking a manslaughter trial against both Air France and Airbus, going beyond the Paris prosecutor’s initial demand that only Air France face manslaughter charges.   Both prosecuting teams contest a 2019 decision to drop the charges by the two investigating magistrates assigned to the case.