Swiftair convicted in France over 2014 Air Algérie MD-83 crash

A Paris criminal court has convicted the Spanish airline Swiftair of involuntary manslaughter over the crash of Air Algérie flight AH5017 more than twelve years ago, and imposed the maximum fine of 225,000 euros. The court found that shortcomings in Swiftair's training and instruction of the crew contributed "in a safe manner" to the accident, according to the ruling reported by aeroTELEGRAPH.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, operated by Swiftair on behalf of Air Algérie, was flying from Ouagadougou to Algiers on 24 July 2014 when it went down over Mali. All 116 people on board died.

French investigation authority BEA concluded that sensors on the engines iced over at roughly 9,500 metres. The automatic thrust control then reduced power, the aircraft lost speed and entered a stall. The crew had not switched on engine anti-icing and did not respond appropriately to the loss of speed.

A missed mandatory refresher course for the captain on engine anti-icing also featured in the criminal proceedings. Swiftair rejected the accusations. Spanish judicial authorities had previously closed their own case, and the BEA stresses that its safety investigation does not serve to establish guilt or responsibility.

According to the court's assessment, deficiencies in crew training and instruction contributed to the crash.