Free Republic

Russia was last night facing claims of a cover up over the Polish presidential air crash after a series of shocking allegations emerged concerning the doomed Tupolev-154 in which head of state Lech Kaczynski died. Most extraordinary was the emergence of confusing footage which claimed to show the shooting of survivors by armed Russian-speaking men minutes after the crash. The video, posted on the internet in recent days, has fuelled conspiracy theories suggesting that the crash was not an accident.

TRIPOLI: An eight-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor when a Libyan plane arriving from South Africa exploded on landing at Tripoli airport on Wednesday, killing more than 100 people, officials said. Afriqiyah Airways listed 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board its flight 8U771 from Johannesburg. "I can confirm the crash but not the number of the dead," said Bongani Sithole, an official of the airline at Johannesburg airport. "We hear that it happened one metre (yard) away from the runway." A Libyan security official earlier said that all those on board the Airbus A330 had died but...

A Libyan plane arriving from South Africa crashed on Wednesday at Tripoli airport killing 105 people, a security official told AFP.

California Highway Patrol Officer Danny Benavidas killed in plane crash COACHELLA - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent condolences to the family of Highway Patrol officer Danny Benavidas, who was killed in a plane crash near Borrego Springs. "Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of this tragedy. Officer Benavides dedicated his life to ensuring the safety and security of California residents, and his honorable service will forever be remembered," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today when he heard of the crash. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Benavides' family during this difficult time." Officer Danny Benavides was found...

THE eerie outline of a crashed wartime fighter plane emerges from the sands of a British beach. Incredibly, the rusting wreckage went undetected for more than 60 years. Now a charity plans to retrieve the American Lockheed P38 Lightning - which suddenly appeared three years ago after being buried on the shore. It was discovered at low tide following a drop in beach levels at Harlech, North Wales.

Pilot’s prayer recorded on Smolensk crash black box Apr 20, 2010 13:02 Moscow Time The flight recorders of the Polish President’s plane registered the prayer of the pilot before the Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on April 10th killing 96 people on board. The Prosecutor General of Poland pledged to release all recordings of the pilots’ conversations. Two of the three black boxes from the presidential plane have already been deciphered and voice recordings of the third one are marred by noise and the information needs to be restored. Meanwhile, Polish experts are expected to arrive in Moscow to help identify...

Joy Tiz ©2010 The pilot of the plane that crashed killing Poland’s president, Lech Kaczynkski along with Poland’s First Lady and other top government officials refused to take instructions from air traffic controllers, according to Rianovosti: “’The head of the traffic control group warned of poor weather conditions, but the crew went ahead with the landing without permission. And [they] also made their landing approach without permission.’” “The [control tower] head said three times to execute a flyby procedure. When the crew did not listen, the control tower could only continue to guide the plane and watch it. It was...

The plane crash Saturday that wiped out much of Poland's political and military leadership -- including President Lech Kaczynski -- was a staggering blow to a nation that's struggled, successfully, to rebuild in the post- Communist era. It also offers the world, especially Washington, a chance to reflect on the Eastern European nation's strategic value as Russia seeks to reclaim a dominant role in global affairs. Democracy and capitalism have borne fruit in Poland, where Soviet hegemony -- and international communism -- began to unravel 30 years ago. Last year, Poland's GDP swelled by nearly 2 percent, even as much...

WARSAW, April 12 (Xinhua) -- So far there is no evidence to show that the pilot was trying to land the president's plane under pressure, said a senior Polish official here Monday. Andrzej Seremet, Poland's chief prosecutor, made the remarks at a news conference while being asked whether the Polish pilot was pressured to land the plane carrying President Lech Kaczynski and other senior officials in Russia. The Soviet-made TU-154 hit the top of trees as it attempted in thick fog to land at a Smolensk airport in west Russia on Saturday morning, killing all the 96 people on board...

The recordings, according to Russian news broadcasts, indicated that the pilot struggled to communicate in Russian with the control tower below. Ground control warned the pilot not to land because of poor weather. Minutes before the plane crashed Polish president Lech Kacynski called his twin brother and told him everything was fine and the plane would be landing shortly. --- Aviation expert and ABC News consultant John Nance said the added pressure of carrying dignitaries can affect a pilot's decision making abilities. "When a pilot puts pressure on himself or herself, it can be a very bad result," Nance said....

A leading Polish defence analyst says late president Lech Kaczynski was well known for ordering pilots to land in dangerous conditions. The Polish leader was one of 97 people killed when his Russian-built Tupolev Tu-154 came down in thick fog near the Russian city of Smolensk on Saturday on its fourth attempt to land. Russian officials are investigating whether pilot error was to blame. Mr Kaczynski's delegation was headed to a memorial service in Katyn for 22,000 Poles who were massacred by Soviet secret police during World War II, a historic wound which has still not healed despite the passage...

There is information concerning the deaths of the Polish leadership in Russia which are setting off red alerts for this blog, from the Russian leadership all over this, Russian military pointing to "pilot error" and the chiming of the press to blame this all on the Polish pilots when the TU-154 is a modern aircraft with all the alarm bells and whistles to alert a pilot that all is not well, so one does not use your jet as a tree trimmer. In theory, this can be just as easily termed an assassination of the Polish leadership by the...

The airplane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski Saturday is deeply shocking — but, sadly, not a complete surprise. Poland has for years been calling the Soviet-era military aircraft used by Polish officials “flying coffins.” Poland’s former Prime Minister Leszek Miller once had to leave the government airplane at an airport in Germany after an engine caught on fire. He was later nearly killed in a helicopter crash — and still politicians were too afraid of the public reaction to buy new aircraft. The possibility of a government aircraft crashing and killing an important official was so strongly discussed...

Investigators seeking the cause of a plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and a delegation including dozens of high-level officials on Saturday are likely to focus on both the Tupolev 154 jetliner and the pilots' actions. The Russian-made plane, which was 20 years old, had been overhauled in December at a Russian aviation facility and had flown relatively few hours. The Tu-154, which crashed outside Smolensk, Russia, was on its fourth attempt to land amid heavy fog. Investigators will seek to understand why the crew tried bring the plane down in such unfavorable conditions. Russian media...

Russia says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will personally head the investigation into an aeroplane crash that killed Poland's president. A total of 96 people were on board the plane that crashed near the western Russian city of Smolensk, all of whom are believed to be dead. Polish president Lech Kaczynski was on board the Russian-built Tupolev 154 jet when it went down in heavy fog near a military airport. Russian authorities have already said they suspect pilot error in the crash, near Smolensk, in Western Russia. There are reports the jet made several attempted landings before the crash. Also on...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has set up a government commission that will investigate the crash in the Russian city of Smolensk, in which most likely is killed the Polish president Lech Kaczynski. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will personally monitor the investigation, RIA Novosti reported as citing a press release of the Kremlin. According to the governor of Smolensk region Sergey Antyufeev there are no survivors in the crash. According to data from the Russian authorities there were 132 people on board the plane from Warsaw to Smolensk.

Lech Kaczynski and his wife, along with some Polish government officials, were among 132 people on the plane, which crashed in western Russia. Russian officials say Polish President Lech Kaczynski has died in a plane crash in western Russia. They say all 132 people on the plane were killed in the crash Saturday at 0700 UTC. Polish officials confirmed that the president and his wife Maria were on board. Passengers also included Poland's army chief, Franciszek Gagor, deputy foreign minister, Andrzej Kremer, and central bank governor, Slawomir Skrzypek.

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Three US service personnel and one civilian were killed when a US Air Force Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crashed in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul Province on 8 April. “Numerous other service members” were also injured in the mishap, according to a statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. “The cause of the crash is unknown at this time,” it says. The incident, which happened near Qalat City, represents the first crash to have involved an operational version of the V-22, which is also used by the US Marine Corps in the MV configuration. The Osprey programme suffered three fatal...

<p>WSLS News Staff NEWS@WSLS.COM Published: March 30, 2010 » 0 Comments | Post a Comment 12:59 p.m. ROANOKE - Wintesses tell WSLS that a plane has crashed into a building by Roanoke Regional Airport. WSLS’s Roanoke Wachovia Towercam can see heavy smoke rising from the area. More information as we get it.</p>