• Airbus and Air France convicted of corporate manslaughter for the 2009 Rio-Paris crash.
• The court ordered a maximum fine of €225,000 ($261,720) for each company.
• Relatives of the victims have expressed dissatisfaction with the penalty as a token gesture.
• The ruling follows a 17-year legal battle over France's worst air disaster.
• Further appeals may prolong legal proceedings for affected families.

A Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter related to the 2009 crash of Flight AF447, which resulted in the deaths of 228 people. This verdict marks a crucial moment in a lengthy legal struggle involving the families of the victims, predominantly from France, Brazil, and Germany, who had been awaiting accountability for over 17 years, according to Reuters, BBC, and South China Morning Post.

The court mandated that both companies pay a fine of €225,000 ($261,720) each, which has been criticized by families as insufficient given the severity of the disaster, according to The Local and Le Monde. The ruling comes after a previous acquittal in 2023 and follows an eight-week appeal trial that investigated the circumstances of the crash.

Flight AF447 disappeared from radar during a storm over the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, and after an extensive search, investigators concluded that mishandling by the flight crew was exacerbated by training failures at both companies. However, the court's verdict specifically highlighted corporate accountability for their roles, reflecting broader issues of safety practices in commercial aviation, according to Reuters and South China Morning Post.