France, March 9 -- The hearings, set to run until 2 April, follow French judges' rejection of a second attempt to refer preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJUE), the EU's highest court.

The plane, which has been leased by Air Algerie from Spanish carrier Swiftair, crashed over northern Mali on 24 July, 2014, killing all 116 people on board - including 54 French nationals, 23 Burkinabe and six Spanish crew members.

Departing Ouagadougou for Algiers, the plane reached an altitude of 31,000 feet before erroneous engine pressure ratio (EPR) readings triggered a disastrous chain of events. Ice that covered engine sensors resulted in false data, leading to technical issues that the crew could not handle....