photo - east NewsA Polish-Russian investigation into the crash that killed President Kaczynski and prominent political and military figures is under way, trying to establish if the accident was caused by pilot error, technical problems or pressure from VIP passengers.
Russian PM Vladimir Putin, who heads the Russian investigative committee, said that there is no evidence of technical failure on the Soviet-built Tupolev 154, which crashed killing 96 people.
Preliminary analysis of the recording of the crew’s conversations indicates that the 26-year-old plane was in good working order at the time of the crash. Media initially speculated that the accident was caused by a faulty plane, stressing that there have been over 60 crashes involving Tu-154s in the last 40 years and six of them in the last five years. The head of an aviation plant in Russia Alexei Gusev, however, pointed out that Tu-154 used by Polish officials was recently refitted with new electronic and navigation equipment and repairs were carried out to its engines.
Pilot error?
Russian investigators are thought to believe that pilot error was behind the plane crash. Air traffic controllers at the Smolensk military airport advised the crew not to try to land because of thick fog, which significantly limited visibility, and suggested flying to Minsk or Moscow instead.
The pilot, Arkadiusz Protasiuk, however, ignored the request and attempted to land in spite of difficult weather conditions. His fourth attempt to land ended in tragedy.
Tomasz Pietrzak, Protasiuk’s colleague and also a pilot of government Tu-154s, says that so far there has been no evidence that the Polish plane tried to land more than once. Pietrzak assured that Protasiuk was an excellent pilot and suggested that the military airport in Smolensk, which is too small for civilian craft, should not have been assigned as a landing spot for the Polish Tu-154.
“If an airport is not adjusted to serve its specific duties, it should be closed down,” said Pietrzak, adding that the crew did not receive a firm order to divert to an alternative airport but a mere suggestion to do so.
VIP pressure?
Some Russian aviation experts speculate that President Kaczynski or his entourage might have ordered the pilot to land despite bad weather conditions and warnings from Russian air traffic control. Flight safety expert Viktor Timoshkin, in an interview for Komsomolskaya Pravda, referred to the case as a “VIP-passenger syndrome”.
Former president Lech Walesa also speculated the pilot may have come under pressure, mentioning a similar case was reported two years ago.
In 2008, Lech Kaczynski tried to force a pilot of a presidential plane to land in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi during the war with Russia in spite of evident danger.
Tomasz Pietrzak, however, excludes such a possibility, claiming that Protasiuk was a highly-experienced and skilful pilot who flew Tu-154 on several occasions and knew the craft very well. “He was a tough guy and would not let emotions prevail over common sense. He would certainly not risk passengers’ lives,” said Protasiuk. (mg/pg)
sources: TVN24, AP, IAR, Gazeta.pl