At a press conference outlining the progress of the investigation into the TU 154 which crashed in April killing President Kaczynski and 95 others, the military prosecutor has said that it was decided by the government not to take a Russian navigator on board the doomed flight.

Prosecutor Ireneusz Szelag told journalists that the decision not to include a Russian navigator as part of the plane’s crew was taken by the Defence Ministry. The Military Prosecutor’s Office, which has a document confirming that the decision was indeed taken by the ministry, is investigating who was personally responsible for that decision.

The plane hit the top of trees on the morning of April 10 when attempting to land in heavy fog and low cloud.

As many as 290 people have already given testimony to military prosecutors, who are currently investigating events before the plane took off, particularly looking at repair work done to the TU-154, carried out in the Russian city of Samara.

Prosecutor Szelag also confirmed that all files received from the Russian Prosecutor’s Office in Moscow have now been translated into Polish, including the testimony of a journalist who claimed that he saw employees of the Severny airport near Smolensk changing light bulbs on runway beacons after the crash.

Prosecutors say they have also received important evidence from investigators in Warsaw looking at the contents of the black boxes and other electronic data.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency has collected 21 photographs taken by TU-154 passengers before the crash. Some of the photos were taken inside the plane which may help establish where the passengers were seated. This will help determine who was sitting where as no seating plan was prepared by the crew of the presidential plane.

The Prosecutor’s Office also has a video, belonging to a TV crew, of a recording from the pilot’s cabin. Though recorded before 10 April it may help identify voices of the plane crew.

Asked whether Moscow is cooperating with the investigation, Polish prosecutors assure that the cooperation with the Russian investigators is going smoothly. (mg)