An appeals trial of Air France and Airbus opens Monday over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed 228 people, the worst disaster in the French flag carrier’s history.

On June 1, 2009, Air France flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris was cruising over the Atlantic when the pilots lost control of the aircraft and plunged into the ocean.

There were no survivors among the 216 passengers and 12 crew on board the Airbus-built A330 aircraft, who included 72 French nationals and 58 Brazilians.

Both the airline and aircraft maker were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter two years ago when a court found that the companies had made mistakes but could not be proven to have caused the crash.

The verdict was a blow to the victims’ families, who said they were outraged by the court’s

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