French court acquits Air France, Airbus over 2009 Rio-Paris crash

Aljazeera reported that Air France and plane manufacturer Airbus have been acquitted over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight after a French court ruled their errors could not be proven as the disaster’s cause.

While the ruling was expected after prosecutors recommended to the Paris court not to seek a conviction, it is still a huge blow for families of victims who have waged a 14-year campaign for justice.

The two France-based companies went on trial in October to determine their responsibility for the worst aviation disaster in Air France’s history, which left all 228 people on board flight AF447 dead.

Prosecutors said as hearings in the eight-week trial wound up in December that it was “impossible” to convict the two aviation giants, which were charged with involuntary manslaughter but deny the charges. If convicted, the two companies would have faced a fine of 225,000 euros ($250,000) as well as significant reputational damage.

As the verdict was read out, relatives of the victims present in court stood up, appearing stunned, then sat down again.