On 10 April 2010 a Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft crashed near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 passengers and crew, including the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria Kaczyńska, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army and other senior military officers, the central bank governor, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and government officers, vice-speakers and members of parliament, and senior members of clergy.[5] They were en route from Warsaw to attend an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre;[6] the site of which is approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Smolensk.
The cause of the crash is under investigation; according to the preliminary reports, the pilot attempted to land at Smolensk-North air base in heavy fog, ignoring the advice of the ground control to divert to a safer airport in Minsk or Moscow. On the final approach the plane struck[citation needed] a Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) antenna it was homing on through the fog, failed to regain control and fell into the trees 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) from the airfield, breaking into pieces across the wooded area.[7][5][8]
All 96 passengers and crew aboard the plane died,[9] making this one of the deadliest disasters in modern Polish history.
Contents[hide]
1 Accident
2 Investigation
3 Initial theories
3.1 Pilot ignoring advice from air traffic control
3.2 Instrument landing system incompatibility
3.3 Technical failure
4 Notable passengers
5 Political aftermath
6 Reactions
6.1 Poland
6.2 Russia
6.3 International
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
//
Accident
The 36th Special Aviation Regiment's Tupolev Tu-154M[10] carrying the Polish President Lech Kaczyński crashed at 10:56 MSD, (08:56 CEST, 06:56 UTC),[11] near the village of Pechyorsk, just north of Smolensk, Russia, which Kaczyński was due to visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.[11] The plane took off at 07:23 CEST (05:23 UTC) from Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport, carrying 89 passengers and 7 crew;[9] presidential aide Zofia Kruszyńska-Gust fell sick just before the trip and did not board the plane. Some early reports were confused about the numbers.[12]
Flight map
The crash occurred in fog (500 m/1,600 ft visibility) about 200 metres (700 ft) from the Smolensk North airfield.[13] 300 to 400 metres (1,000 to 1,300 ft) off the landing path,[14]
About an hour before the crash, a Yakovlev Yak-40 jet also belonging to the Polish government[15] carrying Polish journalists from the president's pool landed at the airbase without incident.[16] But the weather conditions were quickly deteriorating: shortly after, a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 attempted to land, but due to poor visibility, the crew decided to divert to the Vnukovo Airport near Moscow.[17] When the presidential plane arrived the base was enveloped in thick fog, and ground control suggested to the crew that a landing at another airfield would be prudent. The pilot was advised by flight control to land in Moscow or Minsk. However after circling the airport at several hundred meters of altitude three times, the pilot decided to attempt one landing since he had enough fuel available, and if it turned out to be not feasible, only then to divert to an alternate airfield.[18] The plane crashed in this attempt 200 m (650 feet) short of the runway after hitting a 20-metre (66-foot) antenna 1 km (0.6 mi) from the airport and some 10-metre (33-foot) high trees between the antenna and runway.[19][20] The cause of the crash is under investigation.[21][22][23]
The Governor of Smolensk Oblast, Sergey Antufyev, confirmed that there were no survivors in the crash. The plane, reported to have been flying at a very low altitude, clipped trees and crashed into the ground, then caught fire.[11] Russian state television reported that the jet crashed about 200 metres (660 ft) short of the runway during an attempt to land in heavy fog. Pictures from the scene showed parts of the airplane charred and strewn through a wooded area. Some pieces, including one of the wheel wells, were upside-down.[11] Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that bodies of those killed in the crash will be brought to Moscow for identification.[24] However, Kaczyński's body was identified in Smolensk and was flown directly to Warsaw on the afternoon of 11 April.[25]
Investigation
Within hours after the crash, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the establishment of a special commission for the investigation of the accident. The commission will be supervised by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.[26][27][28] An Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General of Russia started a criminal case in accordance with a "violation of the safety rules" of the Russian Criminal Code.[29]
Putin and Medvedev promised Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk they would work closely with Poland in investigating the crash. Initial signs pointed to an accident, possibly due to the fog that is very common in the area in spring and autumn, as well as a pilot error.
Two "black box" flight recorders were recovered undamaged from the crash site during the afternoon/early evening of 10 April, as was confirmed by Sergey Shoygu, the Russian Minister of Emergency Situations.[30] That evening, it was reported that the recordings confirm that the pilot was making attempts to land against the advice of air traffic controllers.[31] Third black box was found on April 12th[32]
Preliminary data indicated that the plane hit the treetops as it was making the approach to the airport in poor visibility, the ITAR-TASS agency quoted Marina Gridneva, an official with the Russian general prosecutor's office.[33]
On the day after the crash, investigators said they had reviewed the "black box" recordings, and they confirmed that there were no technical problems with the Soviet-built aeroplane, ruling out initial theories that the 20-year-old plane was at fault. Alexei Gusev, general director of Aviakor factory, said that the aircraft's three engines had been repaired and technicians had fitted electronic and navigation equipment. He said that there were no doubts about the plane's airworthiness.[34]
Initial theories
Pilot ignoring advice from air traffic control
A Russian official told Reuters anonymously that, "The pilot was advised to fly to Moscow or Minsk because of heavy fog, but he still decided to land. No one should have been landing in that fog."[35] According to the news agency Interfax, the pilot was told that Smolensk airport was closed because of thick fog, but still he decided to continue with the original flight plan to Smolensk.[36] According to the interview given by the flight controller Pavel Plusnin[37] and retransmitted by Polish TVN, it was suggested to the pilot that he land at an alternative airfield but he refused, saying that he would attempt one approach, and if landing were not possible, he would then divert to another airfield.[18] The flight controller also said that communication was hindered by the fact that it was conducted in Russian, which the Polish crew did not know sufficiently well, communicating numerical quantities such as altitude data with particular difficulty.[18] Later the former commander of the unit to which the plane belonged contradicted that claim, saying that the plane's captain knew Russian well and had no problems with using it to communicate.[38] Until 2009 Polish government planes flying VIPs to Russia usually took on a Russian navigator on board, but then the procedure was discontinued and Polish crews handled communications when flying to Russia, with Russian flight controllers reporting no communications problems.[38]
Alexandr Aleshin, the First Deputy Chief of the Main Staff of the Russian Air Force, said that the plane increased its descent rate and went below the glide slope 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the runway. Controllers instructed the pilot to abort the approach; when he did not, controllers advised the aircraft to return to the reserve landing point. This order was repeated several times but the crew continued with the approach and crashed.[39] The interview with the air traffic controller suggested that at some point during the flight the Polish pilots stopped responding to the flight communication, allegedly due to their insufficient command of Russian, and the demanding landing conditions.[37]
Initial speculation was that the pilot tried to land repeatedly against controller's advice because of pressure from the delegation, eager to attend the important ceremony,[40] but later information made clear that only one landing approach was made.[18] According to the former commander of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment, Tomasz Pietrzak, the decision by the Russians to keep the airfield open, even though the weather conditions were too dangerous to receive planes safely, may have aided the crash.[41]
In August 2008, the pilot of Kaczyński's plane was pressured by the president when he refused to land in Tbilisi during the South Ossetian war between Georgia and Russia.[42][43] During that incident, the captain of the plane, Grzegorz Pietruczuk, was asked by the president's staff to change the flight plan and land in Tbilisi.[44] After consulting with the commander of his unit, the captain refused, justifying his decision by safety concerns. He was then visited in the cockpit by Kaczynski himself, who tried to convince him to change his mind. Kaczynski later told journalists that "the Polish officer should not be cowardly". Nevertheless, the pilot held his ground and the plane landed in Azerbaijan as planned. A few weeks after this incident the pilot of the plane was decorated by the defense minister for following correct procedures in this case and keeping the safety of his passengers utmost in his mind.[44] The pilot continued to fly the president's plane after the incident, even after Kaczynski expressed unhappiness with his performance during the flight to Tbilisi.[45] Grzegorz Hołdanowicz, a leading Polish defence analyst, stated his belief that in Smolensk the pilot would have been under pressure to land, despite advice from air traffic control to the contrary.[43]
On 23 January 2008, a Polish military plane with senior officers crashed under similar landing conditions.[46] Improper crew selection, bad weather and pilot distraction were cited as the major causes as inexperienced pilots, trying to see the ground, failed to notice the plane's loss of altitude.[47] The plane was from a regular transport unit, and not from the 36th Special Aviation Regiment that the presidential Tu-154M belonged to, and which is dedicated to carrying government officials.
Instrument landing system incompatibility
The Smolensk-North, a former military air base now in mixed military-civilian use, may be using a Russian version of the instrument landing system called PRMG,[48] which is not compatible with the Instrument Landing System (ILS) generally used in the West.[49] The Polish airplane was modified to use the ILS.[48] Other reports confirm that there was no ILS at the airport at all, with just the NDB system.[50] It is practiced to use this system for landing, as its antennas are situated on the opposite ends of the runway, thus giving directional information. However as it is a navigational and not a landing aid, keeping track of the altitude remains the crew responsibility. That failed, as despite air traffic controller warnings the aircraft was well below glide slope.[19]
Technical failure
The aircraft, a Tupolev Tu-154M, construction number 90A837, was manufactured at Kuibyshev aviation plant (No. 18) on 29 June 1990 for the Polish Air Force.[51] It was one of two Tupolev Tu-154s that served as official government jets; this aircraft—with a tail number of 101—was for presidential use, while another—marked 102—is used by the Prime Minister.
The BBC reported that questions about the 20-year-old presidential jet were being raised: "In late 2008 Kaczynski had suffered a couple of scares. Problems with the aircraft's steering mechanism delayed his departure from Mongolia, forcing him to take a charter flight to Tokyo. ... However, the aircraft had undergone a major overhaul in December 2009 and Aleksey Gusev, the head of the maintenance plant that carried out the work, told Polish TV that it should not have had technical problems."[52] According to a Polish military magazine the airplane was serviced in December 2009 at the manufacturer and received 5-year/7500-flight-hour warranty; the crash happened just after 138 flight hours.[53]
On a note about the type of aircraft used, Paul Duffy, an expert on Russian aviation, stated in 2004 that in 28 crashes of the Tu-154 up to then, few were due to technical failure, and the hull-loss rate was normal for the number in service, the number of years it has been operated, and for the technology of the aircraft.[52]
Investigators say that the "black box" flight recorders showed no evidence of a problem in the aircraft.
Notable passengers
Main article: Casualties of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
In addition to Kaczyński, on board were the military joint chiefs of staff (army, air force, navy), the central bank governor, a deputy foreign minister, head army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, three deputy parliament speakers, Olympic Committee head, head civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and widely known national lawmakers (including core members of the Law and Justice party), the Polish foreign ministry said. Kaczynski's wife, Maria, also died.[54]
Political aftermath
In accordance with the Polish Constitution, on the President's death his duties were taken on by the Marshal of the Sejm (chairman of the lower house of the parliament)—currently Bronisław Komorowski, who thus became Acting President of Poland.[55] Within a fortnight (14 days), he must announce the date of the popular presidential election to be held within a further 60 days on a weekend, i.e. at latest on 20 June. Kaczyński was up for re-election in late September or early October, before the end of his first five-year term.[56]
Despite the deaths of the president and numerous officials, the crash is not expected to impair the functions of the Polish government, since no cabinet ministers were aboard the plane. The Polish Armed Forces were dealt a severe blow, however, since all of their senior commanding officers were killed; their duties were automatically taken over by respective deputy commanders, following standard contingency plans for such a situation.
The commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre was split up because of the political conflict between the Liberal government of prime minister Donald Tusk and Conservative president Kaczyński.[57] On 7 April, Tusk, along with government officials and members of his Civic Platform party, went to Katyn[58] on invitation from the prime minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin.[59] The official commemoration, organized by Polish Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, was scheduled on 10 April. Nevertheless, both ruling coalition and opposition were represented on the plane, with six and nine members of the Sejm, as well as one and two from the Senate, respectively, some of them well known in Poland. Many passengers were actively opposed to Tusk's policies, including:
President Kaczyński himself,
president of the National Bank of Poland, Sławomir Skrzypek,[60][61]
chief of Institute of National Remembrance, Janusz Kurtyka,[62][63][64]
Polish Ombudsman Janusz Kochanowski,[65]
Jerzy Szmajdziński, the left-wing candidate[66] in the upcoming presidential election.
The Marshal of the Sejm, Bronisław Komorowski, had previously been announced as the Civic Platform's candidate in the presidential election.[67]
Reactions
Poland
Crowds on the Royal Route, Warsaw
Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin in church
Dmitry Medvedev addresses the people of Poland. (transcript in English and in Polish).
The Polish public reacted with shock and grief to the disaster. Almost immediately after the news broke, mourners assembled before the Presidential Palace in Warsaw to lay hundreds of tributes, including flowers, wreaths, and candles. Elsewhere in Warsaw, Poles taped black ribbons to their front windows.
Bronisław Komorowski, as acting president, called for a two-minute moment of silence the following day, and formally declared a national week of mourning; all sporting events that week were cancelled. In Kraków, the Sigismund Bell of the Wawel Cathedral was tolled by twenty monks. On 11 April, Kaczynski's body was flown to Warsaw on a military plane; tens of thousands of Poles gathered at both the airport tarmac and the streets of the city to pay their respects to the late president as his casket was driven by hearse to the Presidential Palace.[68] Afterwards, the casket was laid in state at the Palace.[69]
Former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski told TVN24 that "It [Smolensk] is a cursed place. It sends shivers down my spine. First the flower of the Second Polish Republic is murdered in the forests around Smolensk, now the intellectual elite of the Third Polish Republic die in this tragic plane crash when approaching Smolensk airport."[70]
According to the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: "The contemporary world has not seen a such a tragedy".[71]
Former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who had himself suffered injuries in a helicopter crash while in office, said that Poland's aircraft were known to be in need of replacement, even though there is no evidence that it was anything wrong with this airplane. "I once said that we will one day meet in a funeral procession, and that is when we will take the decision to replace the aircraft fleet," he said.[72]
Russia
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed their condolences to the acting President and speaker of the parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski.[73] President Medvedev also announced that 12 April 2010 would be a national day of mourning in Russia.[74] Chairman of International Committee of the State Duma Konstantin Kosachev said that "Katyn claimed yet more victims". Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov has expressed condolences.[75]
Both Russians and tourists laid flowers and candles at the Polish embassy in Moscow, and at the Polish consulates-general in Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad.[76]
After the plane crash, the state-owned mass market Russia Channel broadcast the film Katyń[77] for the second time in Russia.[78] The film was first shown in Russia on another state-owned channel, the less popular Kultura Channel.[79] on 2 April 2010[80] The first showing of Katyń was a political event and drew high audience numbers for what is a minority channel.[81] Since 2007 the film has effectively been banned for mass distribution in Russia.[81]
Witold Waszczykowski, deputy head of Poland's National Security Bureau, told Reuters, "We did not expect this gentle, kind approach, this personal involvement from Putin. Naturally it will have a positive impact on the relationship between our countries." Jerzy Bahr, the Polish ambassador to Russia also stated, "We can sense Russian solidarity at every step of the way."[82]
International
Main article: International response to the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
Many countries and international organisations have expressed sorrow and condolence to the people of Poland over the crash.
See also
Aircraft crash of Polish prime minister Sikorski, 1943
1986 Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 crash
2003 Polish Air Force Mi-8 crash
Aircraft crash of Macedonian president Trajkovski, 2004
2006 Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228 crash
Mirosławiec air accident (2008)
List of Poland disasters by death toll
List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (2000–present)
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External links
Wikinews has related news: Polish President Lech Kaczyński dies as his plane crashes in Russia
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
(Russian) List of updated news
(Russian) Updates on crash investigation from the Interstate Aviation Committee
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