Paris court finds Swiftair guilty over 2014 Mali crash that killed 116

What the report says

A Paris court has found Spanish airline Swiftair guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2014 Air Algérie disaster in northern Mali, in which 116 people died. According to Al Jazeera’s report, a French judge on Monday imposed the maximum corporate fine available in France, 225,000 euros, after a three-week trial earlier this year.

The case concerned Air Algérie Flight AH5017, which was traveling from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria, when it crashed less than an hour after takeoff in July 2014. The aircraft was a Swiftair-owned McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operated for the Algerian carrier. Investigators said the plane stalled after encountering ice while an anti-icing system remained off.

The court said lapses in Swiftair’s training for icy conditions contributed to the accident. It cited concerns that the captain had not completed an adequate proficiency check and that the crew had not received required refresher flights after a period of inactivity. A lawyer for relatives of victims said the verdict was a relief after years of legal efforts. Swiftair has 10 days to appeal and said in a statement that the case should not have proceeded and that safety rules were followed.

The ruling is notable because it is the second time an airline has been convicted of corporate manslaughter in France this year, following a separate verdict involving Air France and Airbus over the 2009 Rio de Janeiro–Paris crash.