Argentina court upholds acquittals in 1997 Austral Airlines crash

Argentina’s Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation has upheld the acquittals of defendants involved in the 1997 Austral Airlines Flight 2553 crash. The accident, which occurred near Fray Bentos, resulted in 74 fatalities.

The court rejected appeals from victims' families, maintaining that the prosecution failed to establish a causal link between the defendants' actions and the crash with the required degree of criminal certainty. While the ruling does not address technical causes or safety failures, the judges determined that it was not proven that the accused knew of a specific risk or that their particular conduct directly caused the disaster.

Disputes during the proceedings included conflicting technical investigations from Uruguay and Argentina regarding potential causes, such as the freezing of Pitot tubes.