The Paris Court of Appeal will decide on March 4, 2021 whether or not to admit the indictment brought against Air France for negligent homicide of 228 people. The chamber is apparently also examining a possible extension to the manufacturer, Airbus. The background is flight AF447, which crashed over the Atlantic on the night of May 31st to June 1st, 2009.

The investigation carried out by the French air accident investigation authority dragged on for a very long time, because it was not until 2011 that the flight recorders were able to be evaluated. In the final report, the investigators came to the conclusion that most likely the pitot probes that measure the speed were clogged with ice crystals and therefore failed. The autopilot switched itself off and the control software activated the "Alternate Law" mode. The pilots are said to have made wrong decisions that were inappropriate for this mode. The Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic, all occupants were killed. The wreck was only found in 2011.

The public prosecutor takes the view that Airbus did not adequately train the pilots. The responsible investigating judge saw it differently and dismissed the application for indictment and justified it, among other things, with the fact that several unfavorable circumstances have come together. The public prosecutor did not want to sit down and took it to the court of appeal.

The French Le Figaro, which is usually well informed, reports, citing court sources, that the chamber is also examining the joint responsibility of the manufacturer Airbus. This would mean that the court of appeal would even go beyond the prosecution's request, as the latter originally only requested an indictment against Airbus.

On March 4, 2021, it will be decided whether the indictment will be admitted, sent back to the public prosecutor for correction, or finally dismissed. The Paris Court of Appeal may or may not order a possible extension to the manufacturer Airbus. The original rejection by the investigating judge had been heavily criticized in France in some cases.