French court rules on crash that killed young Tipperary doctor

Air France and Airbus have been acquitted of the involuntary manslaughter of 228 people, including Tipperary doctor Aisling Butler.

The French court delivered its verdict on Monday saying, the crash could not be proven to have been caused by errors on the part of the companies.

Air France and Airbus were on trial for the crash of flight AF447 between Rio de Janeiro and Paris in 2009.

Three Irish doctors were on the flight, Dr Aisling Butler from Roscrea, Dr Jane Deasy, from Dublin and Dr Eithne Walls from Down.

France 24 is reporting that the court said Airbus committed "four acts of imprudence or negligence".

This included not replacing certain models of the Pitot tubes that seemed to freeze more often on its A330-A340 fleet, as well as "withholding information" from flight operators.

However, it could not be proven that these errors caused the crash.

In December, the prosecutors recommended the court not seek a conviction.

Airbus and Air France have always denied responsibility, attributing the crash to pilot error.

CNN reported that the companies may be liable for civil damages, and a hearing has been set for September 4.