France's Supreme Court ( Cour de Cassation) has annulled the sentences for the three men found responsible for the 2007 Air Moorea crash. A ruptured steering cable caused the Twin Otter plane to plunge into the sea, killing 19 passengers and the pilot.
The case was first heard before a Criminal Court in 2018, with involuntary homicide charges laid against the men, at the insistence of the victims' families.
A picture taken on October 8, 2018 shows crosses bearing names of victims set in front of Papeete Court house, on the first day of the trial of Air Moorea company, 11-years after the crash of one of its aircrafts in which 20 people were killed. Photo: ©Gregory Boissy / AFP
General Director of Air Moorea, Freddy Chanseau, was sentenced to 36 months in prison, 18 of which were suspended. Technical Director Jacques Gobin was also sentenced to 3 years prison, 2 years of which were suspeneded. The head of the French Polynesian Government's air safety unit, Andriamanonjisoa Ratzymbasafy, was sentenced to 3 years, with 18 months suspended.
In a separate decision the Court of Appeal ruled that $US3.3 million had to be paid in compensation to the families of the victims
However, at an appeal before the Cour de Cassation in Paris, these sentences were questioned. The Court upheld the men's convictions but found that their sentences were unjustified because the sentencing Court had not taken all relevant matters into account. As such, the French Polynesia Court of Appeal now must revisit the sentencing process.
Relatives of the victims of the crash into the Pacific Ocean near Moorea island throw flowers into the ocean in their memory, 11 August 2007. Twenty people died, 10 August 2007, after the turboprop ploughed into the waves just moments after taking off from Moorea on its way to next-door Tahiti Photo: AFP- GREGORY BOISSY
A representative for the victims' families has expressed surprise at the Paris ruling. He said that although the Appeal Court may not have considered the family circumstances of those found guilty, the crash has shattered the lives of 20 families.
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