The Paris correctional court sentenced the Spanish company Swiftair to a fine of 225,000 euros, the maximum penalty, for its role in the 2014 crash of flight AH5017. The court ruled that Swiftair was negligent in training and instructing the crew of the MD-83 aircraft, which contributed to an accident that killed 116 people. The crash happened on July 24, 2014, when the McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered EC-LTV, was flying from Ouagadougou to Algiers for Air Algeria. The plane was operated by Swiftair, which also provided the crew. Approximately 32 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft crashed near Gossi, killing all 110 passengers, including 54 French and 23 Burkinabé nationals, as well as the six Spanish crew members. The safety investigation, led by Mali with support from the French Bureau of Investigations and Analyses (BEA), found that the crew had not activated the anti-icing systems. This likely allowed ice crystals to block the pressure sensors at the engine inlets, leading to incorrect readings. The autothrottle then reduced thrust to a level that could not sustain flight at 31,000 feet. As the plane's speed dropped, the autopilot increased the pitch to maintain altitude. Eventually, the MD-83 stalled. According to the report, the crew did not respond appropriately to the loss of speed, stall warnings, or the need to recover from the stall. The voice recorder from the cockpit was not usable, so the reconstruction relied on flight data and radio communications. The final report noted that neither of the two pilots had received training on stall approaches or recovery since joining Swiftair. A training session on these topics had been scheduled for November 2014, after the accident. Investigators also pointed to a previous incident on June 8, 2014, when another Swiftair MD-83 lost speed during cruise with the autothrottle engaged. In that case, the crew initiated a descent and activated the anti-icing systems before a stall occurred. The court concluded that Swiftair's "negligences" in training the crew "certainly contributed" to the accident. Claude Floury, whose daughter Katell was on the plane, expressed a mix of relief and frustration after the ruling. He said he was "relieved" that the company had faced the maximum penalty but noted the fine amounted to less than 2,000 euros per victim. He added that criminal responsibility had finally been acknowledged, despite Swiftair's efforts to avoid a trial in France. The lawyer for most of the 116 victims, Me Sébastien Busy, echoed this sentiment, saying the company had been held accountable for its errors. The investigation was hindered by the absence of the black box, a crucial piece of evidence. While French prosecutors argued that Swiftair should have admitted its role in the accident, Spanish courts had previously acquitted the company. The French prosecution, supported by expert opinions, emphasized that the captain had missed a mandatory refresher on de-icing procedures and that both pilots were "seasonal" crew members who had been inactive for several months. Swiftair's defense, however, pointed to a report by French investigators that highlighted the company's shortcomings as the direct cause of the accident, contradicting the Spanish legal decision.