The French Appeals Court in Paris has fined Yemenia (IY, Aden) EUR225,000 euros (USD248,000) after it upheld an involuntary homicide and injuries verdict against the airline regarding a 2009 crash off Comoros Island that killed 152 people, the news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
The fine handed down on September 14 was the highest possible allowed by law at the time of the crash. The appeals court confirmed a September 2022 ruling which found that while Yemenia had complied with regulations at the time, there were significant lapses in safety culture and training that contributed directly to the accident. The court also mandated that details of the conviction be publicly displayed at Paris CDG and Marseilles.
France had already charged the Yemeni national carrier in 2014 with manslaughter after investigations revealed that the aircraft, an A310-300, 7O-ADJ (msn 535), had been banned from European airspace.
Flight IY626 had been on approach into Moroni International on June 29, 2009, from the then Yemeni capital, Sana, when it plunged into the Indian Ocean, killing everyone on board except a 12-year-old girl.
The accident was blamed on pilot error, inadequate pilot training, and the crew's decision to fly to Moroni at night despite several non-functioning landing lights. In particular, court proceedings identified inappropriate actions by the crew during an unstabilised manoeuvre that led to a stall and subsequent crash.
About 560 people had joined the suit as plaintiffs, many of them from the region around Marseille in southern France, home to many of the victims.
