A French prosecutor has opened a criminal case against seven people over the 2007 fatal crash of an Air Moorea plane in French Polynesia, in which 20 people died.
Six employees of Air Moorea and the former head of French Polynesia's civil aviation administration are to be probed for alleged involuntary homicide.
The Twin Otter plummeted into the sea minutes after take-off from Moorea on its way to Tahiti.
An air accident investigation found that the pilot lost control of the plane after the rupture of a steering cable which had not been checked by the airline's maintenance team.
