The case of Uteir airlines plane crash in Tyumen 2012 will be considered by a French court
The Court of Appeal in Toulouse admitted that the claims of relatives of those killed and injured in the crash of the ATR-72 airliner near Tyumen could be considered in French courts.
This is the first time in the history of Russian legal practice when a domestic flight dispute has been subjected to the jurisdiction of a foreign court.
During the proceedings, it turned out that the airliner itself had design flaws in the regulation of icing on the wings. This allowed to bring to the case against the manufacturer – the Franco-Italian concern ATR. 13 families of the victims and injured passengers refused settlement offers under Russian law and filed a lawsuit against ATR and UTair at the place of registration of the head office of the aircraft concern.
French courts have been determining the jurisdiction of the claim for three years, with the first instance having initially refused to the plaintiffs. Now the victims have chances for greater compensation than those they could receive in Russia.