Relatives of victims of the 2014 Air Algérie crash have welcomed a Paris court ruling finding Spanish airline Swiftair guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The crash, which occurred on July 24, 2014, killed all 116 people on board flight AH5017 from Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, to Algeria's main airport in Algiers. The court fined Swiftair €225,000, the maximum penalty, over the crash.
The French court ruling was a relief to families who had been waiting for a verdict for over 12 years. Sandrine Tricot, who lost her husband Frederic Tricot in the crash, told the BBC it was a relief to finally have a verdict after "4,449 days of waiting for the victims' families". Tricot heads the French national federation for victims of terrorist attacks and collective accidents, which joined the case as a civil party.
The court found that "negligence" in Swiftair's training had "certainly contributed to the accident". Investigators found that the anti-icing system had not been activated, causing ice crystals to form on pressure sensors. This led to an automatic reduction in engine power and the subsequent crash. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, owned by Swiftair and leased to Air Algérie with its crew, crashed in northern Mali while flying through a storm.
The crash killed 54 French citizens, 23 Burkinabè nationals, as well as Lebanese and Algerian passengers and six Spanish crew members. Nathalie Police, who lost her 65-year-old father Didier and her 18-year-old half-brother Nicolas, attended the entire four-week trial. Outside the court on Monday, she stood alongside Tricot, both welcoming the ruling.
The conviction is an important step towards recognising criminal responsibility for the disaster. Sébastien Busy, a lawyer representing most of the victims, described the conviction as a relief. He said Swiftair would also have to cover legal costs, which could exceed the €225,000 fine. Swiftair's defence rejected the French investigation, describing the case as "a botched job".
Spanish prosecutors had previously closed their own investigation without bringing any charges. The airline has 10 days to appeal the ruling. The trial opened in Paris in March, more than 12 years after the disaster. Relatives of victims expressed hope that the ruling would bring them some peace.
Tricot and Police welcomed the ruling, saying that the amount of money was never the end goal, but rather justice being delivered. The families expressed gratitude that the court had finally acknowledged the responsibility of Swiftair in the crash.
Key points
- A Paris court found Swiftair guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the 2014 Air Algérie crash that killed 116 people.
- The court fined Swiftair €225,000, the maximum penalty, over the crash.
- The conviction is an important step towards recognising criminal responsibility for the disaster.
