Air France, Airbus Plead Not Guilty as AF447 Appeal Trial Opens in Paris

Overview

• Both companies entered not-guilty pleas as the Paris appeals court convened, with the CEOs acknowledging victims' grief while rejecting criminal blame.
• Prosecutors aim to link alleged pilot-training shortfalls at Air France to the crash and accuse Airbus of underestimating pitot-probe failures and delaying urgent notices.
• Investigators previously found that icing of the pitot speed sensors led to unreliable data, pilot disorientation and an aerodynamic stall captured on the recovered flight recorders.
• Hearings are slated to run roughly two months, with witnesses and experts heard first and company representatives questioned from October 27.
• The case includes 281 civil parties on appeal and stems from a 2009 disaster that killed 228 people from 33 countries.