Swiftair has been convicted by a Paris criminal court over the 2014 Air Algérie AH5017 disaster, with the Spanish operator ordered to pay the maximum corporate fine of €225,000. The ruling found that training and operational negligence contributed to the crash of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 near Gossi in northern Mali, where all 116 people on board were killed.
The judgment closes the first-instance phase of a long-running case more than 12 years after the aircraft went down on a flight from Ouagadougou to Algiers. Prosecutors had pressed for the maximum penalty, while Swiftair denied responsibility and challenged the case on jurisdictional grounds. The court rejected those arguments and held the company criminally liable for involuntary manslaughter.
The aircraft had been wet-leased to Air Algérie with Swiftair crew. Investigators found the anti-icing system was not activated, allowing ice crystals to affect pressure sensors, reduce thrust automatically and trigger a stall. The court also accepted that insufficient refresher training and a lack of proper proficiency checks contributed to the accident.
Families of the victims welcomed the verdict as long-awaited accountability. Swiftair has 10 days to appeal, leaving the ruling open to review.