Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over the 2009 crash of Flight AF447, which killed all 228 people on board.

The Paris Appeals Court ruled that the airline and aircraft manufacturer were “solely and entirely responsible” for the disaster, in which the Rio de Janeiro–Paris flight plunged into the Atlantic Ocean after stalling during a storm.

A lower court had previously cleared both companies in April 2023, but Thursday’s ruling followed an eight-week retrial that overturned that decision.

The aircraft, an Air France jet manufactured by Airbus, crashed after losing lift at around 38,000 feet (11,580 metres), killing all 12 crew members and 216 passengers, marking the deadliest accident in French aviation history.

Search teams located the wreckage after a vast operation covering 10,000 sq km of the Atlantic Ocean floor, while the flight’s black boxes were only recovered in 2011 following months of deep-sea searches.

All 12 crew members and 216 passengers were killed when the aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Ocean from a height of 38,000 feet (11,580 metres), marking the deadliest aviation disaster in French history.

Relatives of some of the victims, mainly French, Brazilian, and German nationals—were present in court on Thursday to hear the ruling.

The companies were each ordered to pay the maximum fine of €225,000 ($261,720; £194,500), though some victims’ families described the penalty as merely symbolic given the scale of the tragedy.

The President of the AF447 victims’ association and mother of one of those killed, Daniele Lamy, welcomed the verdict, saying it showed the justice system was “at last taking into account the pain of the families faced with a collective tragedy of unbearable brutality.”

Airbus said it acknowledged the ruling but would appeal, seeking a judicial review of the decision.

The judgment is likely to be seen as damaging to the reputations of both Airbus and Air France, which were found responsible in relation to the 2009 crash of Flight AF447.

During closing arguments in November, deputy prosecutors described the companies’ conduct as “unacceptable,” accusing them of “spouting nonsense and pulling arguments out of thin air.”