On Wednesday, a French court found Yemenia Airways guilty of involuntary homicide in connection with the crashing of their Boeing in the Indian Ocean in 2009. The crash happened 15 km off the Comoros islands, claiming the lives of 152 passengers leaving a sole survivor- a then 12-year-old girl Bahia Bakari with fractured bones and burns.
The airline has been fined US$225,000 (£195,000) and is obliged to pay more than US$1 million (£860,000) in damages.
It is reported that before boarding flight IY626 in Sanaa, many of those on board started their journey on another aircraft operated by Yemen’s official airline in Paris or Marseille. From Yemen’s capital, they boarded a connecting flight Airbus A310 which departed in the direction of the Comoros. The plane is said to have failed to navigate landing due to strong winds,
French officials claimed the plane was not fit for flight, and the prosecutors also presented that the plane’s landing lights were inoperative. However, Yemeni officials argued that the aircraft had passed a careful inspection and complied with all international regulations.
According to the AFP news agency, experts told the court there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, therefore it is unclear what the latest findings of the French court were regarding the reason of the disaster. The airline was also accused by prosecutors of having a pilot-training program that was “riddled with flaws,” according to AFP.
