Airbus faces charges over plane crash

A FRENCH judge filed preliminary manslaughter charges against Airbus yesterday over the 2009 crash of an Air France jet, opening a rare criminal investigation against a corporate powerhouse.

The order from judge Sylvie Zimmerman targeting the European planemaker centres on the June 2009 crash into the Atlantic of an Airbus A330 bound for Paris from Rio de Janeiro, killing all 228 people on board.

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said the company disagreed with the judge's "premature" decision - especially in light of the still-unsolved mystery surrounding the crash.

The preliminary charges, which allow for further investigation, came after Airbus lawyers met the judge yesterday. Mr Enders said Airbus would continue to co-operate.

Charges against Airbus, the world's top planemaker by orders in 2010 and a rival of Boeing, are not unprecedented. Airbus employees have been charged in France over previous crashes.

Air France flight 447 went down on 1 June, 2009, amid an intense thunderstorm. Automatic messages show it was receiving false air speed readings from sensors. Investigators say the crash was likely to have been caused by a series of problems.

Specialists are launching a fourth undersea search effort next week for the plane's flight recorders.