France’s market regulator cleared Airbus SAS parent EADS NV and several current and former bosses over charges of insider trading and misleading markets, winding up a probe that has cast a shadow over the group.

The probe was triggered after EADS suffered a dramatic fall in its share price in June, 2006, when it announced worsening delays in deliveries of its A380 super-jumbo.

The AMF regulator Thursday also formally cleared German car maker Daimler AG and French media group Lagardère SCA, both of whom are key EADS shareholders.

Everyone targeted in the AMF investigation, as well as a parallel criminal probe, had denied any wrongdoing.

EADS said in a statement that it welcomed the AMF’s decision and was confident it would be cleared in other proceedings related to the case.

The AMF’s probe had involved current Airbus head Thomas Enders as well as former EADS co-chief executive officer Noel Forgeard. Mr. Forgeard resigned in July, 2006, following the 2006 A380 delays.

Other leading executives cleared by the AMF included Airbus sales chief John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier, and former EADS executives Jean-Paul Gut, Andreas Sperl and Olivier Andries.

The AMF investigation has loomed heavily over EADS despite strong statements of support for its managers from CEO Louis Gallois.

Production on the A380 super-jumbo hit problems in 2006 when engineers discovered wiring prepared in Germany did not fit planes being assembled in France due to conflicting versions of software.

The plane entered service in December, 2007, but is still slipping behind schedule and testing budgets due to the amount of customization requested by buyers. EADS is expected to take a new charge on the A380 this quarter due to cost overruns.

Airbus has also said it expects to miss its latest delivery target of 13 aircraft for 2009 by one or two planes.