Air France and Airbus face a manslaughter trial over a 2009 crash in the Atlantic that killed 228 people, an appeal court has ruled.
Air France flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed on June 1, 2009, killing everyone on board.
The victims included five British passengers.
The ruling overturns a 2019 decision not to press charges against either company over the accident, in which the pilots lost control of a Airbus A330 jet after ice blocked its airspeed sensors.
Today's decision follows a 12-year fight for justice by families of those who lost their lives in the worst air disaster in French history.
But Airbus and Air France both said on Wednesday they planned to file appeals against the ruling before a higher court.
"The court decision that has just been announced does not reflect in any way the conclusions of the investigation," Airbus said in a statement.
Air France "maintains that it committed no criminal fault at the root of this tragic accident", said a spokesman for the carrier, which is part of Air France-KLM.
French investigators found that the crew had mishandled loss of speed readings from sensors blocked with ice and caused an aerodynamic stall by holding the aircraft's nose too high.
Undersea equipment including remote controlled submarines took two years to find the wreckage of the Airbus A330 at a depth of 13,000 feet (3,900 metres).
An enquiry then led to investigators concluding that the crash was caused by Air France pilot error, and technical problems with the Airbus.
Despite this, judges initially dismissed the case against both the airline and the plane manufacturer in August 2019.
"This decision was reversed today," a legal source at the Paris Appeal Court said.
"Subject to another appeal, the companies will go on trial for negligence and recklessness leading to manslaughter."
Before today’s ruling, Daniele Lamy, a campaigner for victims’ families, said: "We are not seeking revenge but justice for the dignity of families and victims."
Ms Lamy said that ‘impunity’ for those responsible ‘may lead to another catastrophe.’
Among those who died on the Airbus was Graham Gardner, an oil worker from Gourock, in Renfrewshire, and Arthur Coakley, an engineer from Whitby in North Yorkshire.
Alexander Bjoroy, an 11-year-old boarder at Clifton College in Bristol, died, as did PR executive Neil Warrior.
Other victims included three young Irish doctors, returning from a two-week holiday in Brazil.
Since the disaster, pilot training on dealing with technical breakdown is said to have been stepped up by Air France.