The Daily Populous Thursday May 21st, 2026 evening edition
Authored by bbc.co.uk and submitted by bendubberley_

The crash led to a complex recovery operation in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean, more than 700 miles (1127km) from the coast of South America.

During the initial searches, the French government had been responsible for investigating the crash and Brazilian forces took charge of retrieving the bodies.

In the first 26 days of searches, 51 bodies were recovered, many still buckled into their seats.

One family member who spoke to BBC News Brasil in 2019 said he had only been able to bury his son's remains over two years after the incident.

His son, 40-year-old engineer Nelson Marinho Filho, nearly missed the flight out of Rio de Janeiro's Galeão International Airport and was the last person to board, according to Air France staff.

The passengers came from 33 different countries, including 61 French nationals, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, two Americans, five Britons and three Irish nationals.

One of the Britons was 11-year-old Alexander Bjoroy from Bristol, who had been returning to the UK via France after spending half-term in Brazil.

Three Irish women - Eithne Walls from County Down, Jane Deasy from County Dublin, and Aisling Butler from Co Tipperary - were also among those killed.

All three were doctors and were returning home from a holiday in Brazil.

Brazilian prince Pedro Luiz de Orleans e Bragança also died in the crash at the age of 26.

Out of the 216 passengers, there were 126 men, 82 women, 7 children and one infant on board.

The 12 members of flight crew were mainly from France, with the exception of one Brazilian.

In 2012, French investigators found that a combination of technical failure involving the plane's sensors and the pilots' inability to react to the aircraft stalling led to it plunging into the sea.

While the pilots had been confused by faulty air-speed readings, they mistakenly pointed the nose of the plane upwards when it stalled instead of down. Since the crash, pilot training has been improved and the speed sensors replaced.

A statement from Air France at the time of the crash said the pilot had more than 11,000 hours of flight time, including 1,700 hours on the same type of plane.

The aircraft had last been through a maintenance check on 16 April 2009.

Samski877 on May 21st, 2026 at 12:42 UTC »

Seventeen years, 228 deaths and families still fighting for accountability.

Whatever the legal appeals ahead, this verdict is a reminder that corporate failures in aviation do not just disappear because enough time passes.

Loki-L on May 21st, 2026 at 12:28 UTC »

I thought that was a broken sensor followed by pilot error when dealing with it.

bendubberley_ on May 21st, 2026 at 12:19 UTC »

> Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over a 2009 plane crash which killed 228 people.

> The Paris Appeals Court found the airline and aircraft manufacturer guilty of corporate manslaughter over the incident, in which a flight between Rio de Janeiro and Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

> The passenger jet stalled during a storm and plunged into the water, killing all on board.

> A court had previously cleared the companies in April 2023 but they were found guilty after this appeal.