Airbus and Air France found guilty of 2009 Flight 447 crash - but victims' families say justice still hasn't landed

Sixteen years after Air France Flight 447 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 228 people on board, a Paris appeals court has found both Air France and Airbus guilty of manslaughter. You'd think that would feel like closure. For many families of the victims, it doesn't - not even close.

According to the South China Morning Post, Nelson Faria Marinho, a Brazilian father who lost his son in the crash and heads a victims' association, says justice has still not been properly served. The verdict, while historic - this was France's worst aviation disaster - has left a bitter aftertaste for many who waited nearly two decades for someone to be held accountable.

The crash that changed aviation safety

Flight 447 departed Rio de Janeiro on June 1, 2009, bound for Paris. It never arrived. The Airbus A330 went down over the Atlantic in the dead of night, killing all 228 passengers and crew. Investigators later determined that iced-over speed sensors - called pitot tubes - caused autopilot disengagement, and that the crew struggled fatally to respond. It became one of the most studied disasters in modern aviation history, triggering major changes to pilot training standards worldwide.

Guilty verdict, but nobody's done appealing

Both Air France and Airbus - two of France's most iconic corporate names - issued separate statements confirming they intend to appeal Thursday's ruling, per the SCMP report. That decision essentially kicks the legal can further down the road, potentially dragging proceedings out for several more years. For families who have already spent the better part of two decades in courtrooms, the news is less a finish line and more another lap around a very grim track.

Mixed emotions on the ground

The verdict is being described as producing "mixed emotions" among victims' families - which is perhaps the most diplomatic way of saying that a guilty verdict against two massive corporations feels hollow when those same corporations immediately announce they're fighting it. Marinho's comments reflect a frustration that resonates across borders, given that victims came from over 30 countries.

Whether the appeal results in an upheld verdict, a reversal, or a settlement, one thing is clear: for families like Marinho's, no courtroom outcome will ever fully account for what was lost over the South Atlantic that night in 2009.