Air France And Airbus Face Trial Over Crash That Killed 3 Irish Docs

Court overturns ruling not to press charges

- Trevor Quinn

AIR France and Airbus will face a manslaughter trial over a crash that killed 228 people – including three Irish doctors – an appeal court ruled yesterday.

The AF447 aircraft was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009 when it came down in the Atlantic killing everyone on board.

The victims included close friends Aisling Butler, 26, from Roscrea, Co Tipperary, Dubliner Jane Deasy, 27, and 28 year-old Eithne Walls, from Co Down

Aisling’s father John said: “It’s a positive thing obviously insofar as things can be positive. We’re happy that it’s going ahead.”

The ruling in Paris overturns a 2019 decision not to press charges against either company over the accident, in which the pilots lost control of an Airbus A330 jet after ice blocked its airspeed sensors.

The decision yesterday follows a 12-year fight for justice by families of those who lost their lives in what was the worst air disaster in French history.