Airbus and Air France found guilty of corporate manslaughter over 2009 plane crash

AF447 crashed in 2009 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris

Dr Aisling Butler (26), from Roscrea, Co Tipperary; Dr Jane Deasy (27), from Dublin; and Dr Eithne Walls (28), from Co Down, were returning from a holiday in Brazil when they died in the crash on June 1st, 2009.

Relatives of some of the 228 passengers and crew who died when the Airbus A330 vanished in darkness during an Atlantic storm gathered to hear the verdict after their 17-year legal battle to pinpoint blame for France's worst air disaster.

A Paris appeals court on Wednesday ordered both companies to pay a maximum fine of €225,000 each, marking a significant milestone in a 17-year legal battle.