Europe News

Russian report blames Polish air force chief for plane crash

Jan 12, 2011, 17:25 GMT

Rescuers work among wreckage of a Polish government Tupolev Tu-154 plane that crashed near Smolensk airport, Russia, 11 April 2010. EPA/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

Moscow/Warsaw - Poland's air force chief triggered the plane crash that killed him, president Lech Kaczynski and 94 others in Russia nine months ago, according to a report released by Russian investigators on Wednesday.

The document, compiled by the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), said Air Force Commander Andrzej Blasik barged into the cockpit while drunk - with an alcohol level of 0.6 milligrams per millilitre of blood - and pressured the pilot to land despite bad weather.

His statements were captured by the cockpit's voice recorder, MAK head Tatyana Anodina said. Kaczynski's chief of protocol also reportedly was in the cockpit, contrary to regulations.

Russian air traffic controllers had advised against a landing, because of heavy fog and poor visibility at the airport in Smolensk. The pilots attempted to land anyway, striking trees.

The Tupolev TU-154 was carrying Kaczynski and other top officials to a ceremony commemorating the Soviet massacre of Polish officers in Katyn in April 1940.

The Russian report's findings were rejected by Kaczynski's twin brother as a 'taunt against Poland' on Wednesday.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a former prime minister and the current head of the Law and Justice party, said the report dealt with 'speculation' for which there was no proof and that it was 'completely one-sided.'

He faulted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for allowing Russia to take the lead in the investigation and not allowing the European Union to play a greater role in the inquest.

He argued that the accident might actually have been caused by mistakes made by Russian air controllers.

But Anodina said that air traffic controllers in Smolensk had informed the crew of the poor weather conditions and strongly recommended an alternative airport where they could land.

'The pilots of the plane did not have permission to land,' she noted, adding that the crew had not been properly briefed on the weather conditions in Russia when they began their flight in Warsaw.

The committee has handed over the 20,000-page report to Polish officials, the MAK office said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month described the investigation as 'unacceptable,' saying that some of the conclusions it had made were 'without foundation.'

Tusk is to meet with Interior Minister Jerzy Miller on Thursday to discuss the way forward. The report could once again stoke tensions between Poland and Russia, which just recently had attempted to launch a new, more positive chapter in their relationship.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski recently announced that he intends to travel to Russia to mark the anniversary of his predecessor's death, in a bid to carry on the reconciliation efforts.