Ten years after the crash of Air France AF447 flight, families of victims are still awaiting a trial. The SNPL, Air France’s main pilot union, demands that everyone involved in the crash to be sent to court.
On June 1, 2009, an Air France A330 registered F-GZCP carrying out flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed at sea, killing all 228 people on board the aircraft. This accident remains the worst in Air France has ever suffered, and the deadliest involving an Airbus A330.
Air France and Airbus were indicted in March 2011 for manslaughter. The flight recorders were recovered two months later. The final report of the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), released in 2012, pointed at icing of the Pitot probe and incorrect pilot reactions as the main causes for the crash. As for the criminal investigation, it was concluded on February 18, 2019. But ten years later, the prosecutor of Paris has yet to take a decision before the judges can order either a dismissal for one or both companies or a referral to Criminal Court.
Vincent Gilles, Vice-President of the SNPL, expects the latter. “It is important for us that the whole truth is made about the circumstances of the accident and that all responsibilities are highlighted by the judges,” he said in a press release, adding that “to do this, it seems essential to us that all the parts in the case, without exception, be referred to the Criminal Court. “