Smolensk air disaster
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 April 2010 |
| Summary | version: pilot's error[1] |
| Site | Suvorova Street, Severny District[2] 54°49′30″N 032°1′30″E / 54.82500°N 32.02500°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-154 |
| Flight origin | Warsaw, Poland |
| Destination | Smolensk-North Airport |
| Fatalities | all passengers and crew (132) |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński crashed in Smolensk-North airport near Pechersk near Smolensk, Russia, killing all on board.
Accident
At 10:56 Moscow time, (06:56 UTC),[3] a Tupolev Tu-154,[4] carrying the Polish President Lech Kaczyński crashed near Smolensk, Russia. President Kaczyński was due to visit Smolensk to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.[3] The aircraft was carrying 132 passengers and crew.[3] It is feared that all were killed in the accident.[4] [5] The crash occurred in foggy conditions(0.5km visibility without Instrument landing system) about 1.5km from the airport.[6] The governor of Smolensk Oblast, Sergei Antufiev, confirmed for Russia 24 news channel that there were no survivors in the crash. The plane was reported to have caught up in the tops of trees, hit the ground and broken up into pieces. On board were also the Governor of National Bank of Poland, Sławomir Skrzypek, the Polish army chief of staff Franciszek Gągor and the Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer[7].
Investigation
The President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, announced that he has created a special commission for investigation of the plane crash. The Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will supervise the work of the commission. [8]
Flight manifest
According to the flight manifest onboard were among others:
- Lech Kaczyński, the President of Poland
- Maria Kaczyńska, the first lady
- Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last President of the Polish government-in-exile
- Jerzy Szmajdziński, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm
- Władysław Stasiak, Chief of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
- Aleksander Szczygło, head of the National Security Bureau
- Paweł Wypych, Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
- Mariusz Handzlik, Undersecretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
- Andrzej Kremer, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
- General Franciszek Gągor, Chief of the Polish Army General Staff
- Andrzej Przewoźnik, Secretary-General of Rada Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa
- Grzegorz Dolniak, member of the Sejm
- Przemysław Gosiewski, member of the Sejm
- Zbigniew Wassermann, member of the Sejm
- Janusz Kochanowski, Polish Ombudsman
- Sławomir Skrzypek, President of the National Bank of Poland
- Janusz Kurtyka, Historian and president of the Institute of National Remembrance
- Bishop Tadeusz Płoski, Polish Military Bishop (2004)
- Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka
References
- ^ http://lenta.ru/news/2010/04/10/cause/
- ^ http://www.newsru.com/russia/10apr2010/skp.html
- ^ a b c "Polish President Lech Kaczynski 'in plane crash'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Polish president feared dead in plane crash". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Bloomberg Polish President, Bank Chief in Plane Crash, Reports
- ^ "Polish president feared dead in Russian plane crash". Reuters. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Polish president's plane crashes in Russia: ministry
- ^ http://lenta.ru/news/2010/04/10/comission/