The Paris tribunal correctionnel convicted Swiftair, the Spanish operator of the MD-83 that crashed near Gossi, Mali in 2014, of involuntary manslaughter on 28 September, imposing the maximum corporate fine of €225,000. The court found that the company's negligence in crew training 'contributed with certainty' to the accident that killed all 116 people aboard. France 24
According to Reuters, judges rejected some of the prosecution's broader arguments about inadequate pilot training but found specifically that the captain had not undergone a proper proficiency check and that the crew had not completed the required number of refresher flights after a period of inactivity. Investigators had established that the aircraft's engine anti-icing system was not switched on during the flight, allowing ice crystals to obstruct engine pressure sensors, which triggered erroneous thrust readings and an unrecovered stall.
The verdict, delivered 4,449 days after the crash — a figure a bereaved family member cited to the BBC — does not itself grant compensation; families' civil claims are expected to proceed separately through insurers or a compensation mechanism once the ruling becomes final. Swiftair has 10 days to appeal, Reuters reported, and the company said in a statement that it would examine the decision with its legal advisers before deciding on next steps, while maintaining that the trial should not have gone ahead and that safety regulations had been followed. The families' lawyer, Sébastien Busy, said Swiftair had 'sought by every means to escape a trial in France' and was 'finally caught out by the errors it made.'