Air crash blamed on crew's bad training
Source: Agencies |
July 30, 2011, Saturday
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THE crew of the plane carrying Poland's president that crashed in Russia last year killing all 96 on board were poorly trained and ignored crucial safety regulations, a long-awaited Polish government report into the disaster said yesterday.
The 328-page report, which may complicate Prime Minister Donald Tusk's bid for re-election in October, chronicles a litany of errors and neglect by both the crew and Russian ground staff.
"There were serious shortcomings in the organization of the unit (of the air force responsible for handling VIP flights)," investigative commission member Maciej Lasek told a news conference.
"In order for the unit to carry out its tasks, deliberate decisions were made to disregard or break procedures, to conduct training not in line with training regulations … Pilots straight out of flying schools were accepted and no training flights were carried out."
More experienced pilots had left for more lucrative work in the civilian aviation sector, said Lasek, himself a pilot.
"Of the crew members, only one technician had the proper credentials for the flight. Others did not have proper approval for this flight," he said.
President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the heads of the armed forces and many senior officials died in the crash as their TU-154 Tupolev plane was trying to land in thick fog near west Russia's city of Smolensk in April last year.
The Polish delegation had been heading to the Katyn forest to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the murder of Polish officers by Soviet secret police during World War II.
The crash report, drawn up by a panel of 34 experts over 15 months, said the crew had failed to prepare some key equipment on the plane, which hampered their ability to grasp how dangerous their situation was.
Faulty equipment at Smolensk airport and poor communication by Russian ground staff also contributed to the crash, it said.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Benedict told the news conference: "The commission has established that the lighting systems at the airport were faulty and inadequate."
The Russians gave incorrect instructions to the pilots, who he said had miscalculated their distance from the ground when the crash happened.
The 328-page report, which may complicate Prime Minister Donald Tusk's bid for re-election in October, chronicles a litany of errors and neglect by both the crew and Russian ground staff.
"There were serious shortcomings in the organization of the unit (of the air force responsible for handling VIP flights)," investigative commission member Maciej Lasek told a news conference.
"In order for the unit to carry out its tasks, deliberate decisions were made to disregard or break procedures, to conduct training not in line with training regulations … Pilots straight out of flying schools were accepted and no training flights were carried out."
More experienced pilots had left for more lucrative work in the civilian aviation sector, said Lasek, himself a pilot.
"Of the crew members, only one technician had the proper credentials for the flight. Others did not have proper approval for this flight," he said.
President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the heads of the armed forces and many senior officials died in the crash as their TU-154 Tupolev plane was trying to land in thick fog near west Russia's city of Smolensk in April last year.
The Polish delegation had been heading to the Katyn forest to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the murder of Polish officers by Soviet secret police during World War II.
The crash report, drawn up by a panel of 34 experts over 15 months, said the crew had failed to prepare some key equipment on the plane, which hampered their ability to grasp how dangerous their situation was.
Faulty equipment at Smolensk airport and poor communication by Russian ground staff also contributed to the crash, it said.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Benedict told the news conference: "The commission has established that the lighting systems at the airport were faulty and inadequate."
The Russians gave incorrect instructions to the pilots, who he said had miscalculated their distance from the ground when the crash happened.
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