Families welcome guilty verdict over Mali crash that killed 116
Relatives of the victims tell the BBC they are relieved to finally have a ruling 12 years after the crash.
Families welcome guilty verdict over Mali crash that killed 116
The aircraft went down while flying through a storm in northern Mali
Relatives of those killed in the 2014 Air Algérie crash have praised a Paris court decision that found Spanish airline Swiftair guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Sandrine Tricot, whose husband Frederic Tricot died in the disaster, told the BBC that it was a relief to finally receive a verdict after "4,449 days of waiting for the victims' families".
On Monday, the French court imposed the maximum fine of €225,000 ($256,000; £193,000) on the airline over the crash, which killed all 116 people aboard flight AH5017 from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria's main airport.
Swiftair's defence dismissed the French investigation, calling the case "a botched job".
Spanish prosecutors had earlier ended their own inquiry without filing any charges.
The airline has 10 days to appeal.
The court said "negligence" in Swiftair's training had "certainly contributed to the accident".
The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, owned by Swiftair and leased to Air Algérie with its crew, crashed in northern Mali on 24 July 2014.
Among the dead were 54 French citizens, 23 Burkinabè nationals, along with Lebanese and Algerian passengers and six Spanish crew members.
The crash occurred as the plane flew through a storm in the semi-arid Sahel region, south of the Sahara Desert.
Investigators determined that the anti-icing system had not been switched on, allowing ice crystals to build up on pressure sensors. This caused an automatic drop in engine power and the crash that followed.
The trial began in Paris in March, more than 12 years after the tragedy.
Nathalie Police, who lost her 65-year-old father Didier and her 18-year-old half-brother Nicolas, attended the full four-week trial.
Outside the court on Monday, she stood with Tricot. Both women welcomed the verdict.
"The amount of money was never the end goal. We are relieved that justice has finally been delivered," Tricot told the BBC.
"No amount of money could bring back our loved ones."
Tricot leads the French national federation for victims of terrorist attacks and collective accidents, which joined the case as a civil party.
She said it had been hard to coordinate with families in Algeria and Burkina Faso who also lost relatives, but hoped the ruling would offer them some peace.
"The conviction is an important step towards recognising criminal responsibility for the disaster."
Sébastien Busy, a lawyer representing most of the victims, called the conviction a relief. He said Swiftair would also have to pay legal costs, which could be more than the €225,000 fine.