PARIS, France, May 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A French court will deliver a verdict on Thursday in an appeal trial of Air France and Airbus over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed 228 people, the worst disaster in the French flag carrier's history.

In 2023, both the airline and aircraft maker were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter when a court found that the companies had made mistakes but could not be proven to have caused the crash.

If found guilty, the two companies may face a maximum fine of 225,000 euros ($262,000) as well as significant reputational damage.

On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight AF447, travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was cruising over the Atlantic when the pilots lost control of the aircraft, causing it to plunge into the ocean.

There were no survivors among the 216 passengers and 12 crew on board the Airbus-built A330 aircraft, the dead including 72 French nationals and 58 Brazilians.

The 2023 verdict was a blow to the victims' families, who said they were outraged by the court's decision to clear the companies of the charges.

Although prosecutors at the time had asked for the charges to be dropped, they subsequently lodged the appeal to allow "the full potential of the legal appeals procedure" to play out.

The appeal trial started in September, 2025.

Philippe Linguet, who lost his brother in the crash, has described the hearings as the "last resort".

"We want a justice system that is combative, that goes beyond the usual procedures to convict two European and multinational companies," he has said.

- 'Indecency' -

"We will seek to overturn the judgment and secure the conviction of both companies," prosecutor Agnes Labreuil said in November.

Another prosecutor, Rodolphe Juy-Birmann, lambasted the behaviour of the two companies over the past 16 years.

"Nothing has come of it -- not a single word of sincere comfort. It's a rock-solid defence. One word sums up this whole circus: indecency," he said.

Airbus and Air France have firmly denied any criminal liability, blaming pilot error.

But lawyers for the families argue both companies were aware of the problem with pitot tubes, which are used to measure flight speed, and that the pilots were not trained to deal with such a high-altitude emergency.

The court has heard how a malfunction with the tubes, which became blocked with ice crystals during a mid-Atlantic storm, caused alarms to sound in the plane's cockpit and the autopilot system to switch off.

Technical experts highlighted how, after the instrument failed, the pilots put the plane into a climb that caused the aircraft to stall and then crash into the ocean.

The prosecution accuses Airbus of "underestimating the seriousness of failures of the pitot probes", as well as "failing to properly inform the crews of operating airlines, which prevented the pilots from reacting as they should".

Prosecutors have accused Air France of failing to provide pilot training tailored to situations involving icing of pitot tubes and to adequately inform flight crews.

In October, Christophe Cail, who represented Airbus, said in court the company's goal was "zero accidents".

"Even the smallest accident is a failure for our entire community," he said.

Pascal Weil, who represented Air France, said at the time that the company "had the means to conduct high-altitude training, but we did not do so because we sincerely believed it was unnecessary".