Posted on 04/15/2010 10:57:55 PM PDT by ketelone
WARSAW: Investigators blamed pilot error on Thursday for a crash that killed Poland's president, as harrowing details emerged of how the crew knew they were doomed after hitting trees while trying to land in Russia.
As Poland's national unity fractured over plans to bury president Lech Kaczynski in a castle alongside kings and heroes, officials released the first results from analysis of the plane's black box flight recorders.
"The crew was aware of the inevitability of the coming catastrophe, if only due to the plane shaking after the wings hit the trees -- which we are certain happened," Poland's chief prosecutor Andrzej Seremet told commercial radio.
Colonel Zbigniew Rzepa, a Polish military prosecutor, said the pilots of the Russian-made jet were aware of the imminent crash as the last seconds of the voice recordings "were dramatic", but did not elaborate.
But Russian investigators found no evidence that "any of the high-ranking passengers forced the pilots to land in Smolensk", Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a source close to the investigation as saying.
The Polish presidential Tupolev Tu-154 crashed in thick fog Saturday near the western Russian city while taking a delegation to a memorial service for a World War II massacre.
All 96 people on board, many of them senior Polish military and political figures, were killed.
Officials said Thursday that a "special security procedure" was being implemented for the arrival of US President Barack Obama and other foreign leaders for the funeral in Krakow, with around 80 planes set to land there Sunday morning.
With a cloud of ash spreading across northern Europe from an Icelandic volcano, Poland closed its airspace in the north of the country on Thursday until further notice, but a White House spokesman said that Obama was keeping his plans to fly.
Protests have erupted over the choice of Krakow's historic Wawel castle, the resting place of Poland's past kings, a saint and national heroes, for the burial of the president and his wife Maria.
Hundreds of people rallied in Warsaw, Krakow, the Baltic port of Gdansk and Poznan in the west on Wednesday, while more than 42,000 people have joined a Facebook campaign against the decision.
The hierarchy of Poland's powerful Roman Catholic urged critics to calm down in the dispute.
"We must respect the decision," Bishop Stanislaw Budzik, secretary-general of the Polish Bishops' Conference, was quoted as saying by Poland's PAP news agency.
"The intention is to commemorate all victims of a disaster unprecedented in Polish history," Budzik said.
As debate raged over Kaczynski's burial site, questions also mounted over the cause of the crash.
Russian investigators said Thursday that initial findings from the jet's data and flight voice recorders said the crew may not have been aware of the particularities of the plane when they repeatedly tried to land.
"An analysis of the evidence, including the first results from the decoding of the black boxes, shows that an error in piloting led to the disaster," the Interfax news agency quoted a source close to the investigation as saying.
The official said it appeared that the plane tried to land by levelling out its oblique descent approach to a horizontal angle in a bid to compensate for the bad weather.
But the source said a "particularity of the plane is that if its speed of descent is more that six metres per second, when the plane equalized and goes into a horizontal flight it loses altitude," the source said.
Speculation that the pilots were under pressure has centred on a spat in 2008, when Kaczynski tried and failed to order a pilot to land in Tbilisi while on a show of support for Georgia during its brief war with Russia.
On Saturday, Kaczynski's delegation was headed to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when thousands of Polish officers were slaughtered by the Soviet secret police in 1940.
Thousands of people queued for a third day Thursday to pay their respects to the conservative, nationalist Kaczynski and his wife, whose bodies are lying in state at the presidential palace in Warsaw.
An early presidential election is expected on June 20.
The bodies of 34 more crash victims were flown home to Poland Thursday.
First thought on reading that is it sounds like a Mafia funeral. They hit the guy and then all show up to honor him.
So sad. Wonder why no one stopped and spoke out.
Noticed that one. I also noticed that some of the information comes from the Russian paper — not buying anything in that country’s media regarding this incident (it’s not like the Kremlin has stopped persecuting journalists there...).
I understand why Obama is going there, but I sure wish he would have sent someone else and that it would have been acceptable to do so. I hate that he “represents” our country, and that he is paying homage to a President who stood firmly AGAINST everything Obama is trying here in order to gain Poland’s independence. Makes me sick...
Feeling the same thing here...
Polish citizen Ian Grushinski grieves by a piece of the wreckage at a plane crash site near Smolensk, western Russia, Sunday, April 11, 2010. Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and some of the country's most prominent military and civilian leaders died Saturday, April 10, 2010 along with dozens of others when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog near Smolensk.
Yup. The Russians seem to have released info saying that they heard nothing to suggest that the pilot was forced to land in bad conditions by anyone on board.
But, that may just be a coverup. It may be that they WERE forced, and noone wants the scandal to taint anyone that is now dead. After all, he/she would have caused the deaths of all the other people on board as well.
The Poles are certainly not saying what was on the blackbox, although they have evidently heard it. Points to a coverup.
Hmmm, I wonder why they thought that.
With a cloud of ash spreading across northern Europe from an Icelandic volcano, Poland closed its airspace in the north of the country on Thursday until further notice, but a White House spokesman said that Obama was keeping his plans to fly.
Any suggestions for the most desirable flight path? :)
Just wanted to point out these troubling paragraphs...
************************
“Russian investigators said Thursday that initial findings from the jet’s data and flight voice recorders said the crew may not have been aware of the particularities of the plane when they repeatedly tried to land.
“An analysis of the evidence, including the first results from the decoding of the black boxes, shows that an error in piloting led to the disaster,” the Interfax news agency quoted a source close to the investigation as saying.
The official said it appeared that the plane tried to land by levelling out its oblique descent approach to a horizontal angle in a bid to compensate for the bad weather.
But the source said a “particularity of the plane is that if its speed of descent is more that six metres per second, when the plane equalized and goes into a horizontal flight it loses altitude,” the source said.”
********************************************
SO... Russia is saying that the (military) pilots were not familiar with the President’s plane — or is it that they changed something when it underwent it’s “repairs” or “renovations” in Russia last December??? I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe that the pilots were unaware of this particularity (peculiarity) of their own plane while landing in bad weather???
I’m not a pilot, but I find this VERY hard to believe frankly...
Don’t know if others know this or not, but Interfax is a Russian newspaper very close to the Kremlin, still.
LIZOL — What is the feeling in the country if I may ask? Are people believing this was purely an accident, or do you think more people are thinking there was something odd about all of this? Wanted to tell you again, that you and all your fellow citizens in Poland are in my prayers.
“...Russian investigators said Thursday that initial findings from the jet’s data and flight voice recorders said the crew may not have been aware of the particularities of the plane when they repeatedly tried to land.”
This is false. It started out as four times, then it was two now the latest.
From the New York Times..
“...Tatyana Anodina, the head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees aviation in the former Soviet Union, denied reports that the pilot made three or four attempts to land, and said he made only one. She urged the public not to trust unofficial sources on the cause of the crash.”
There is information emerging that there was poor visibilty during the time the plane with the Polish press landed.
Then you have this information coming out in the same N.Y. Times story.
“...Ms. Szczypinska, who gave up her seat on the flight just hours before it took off, said she had been informed by Polish journalists at the crash site that Russian authorities demanded that witnesses who had been waiting to greet the dignitaries hand over their cameras and cellphones.”
Instead of the foucus that was on poor weathe,r the Russians are know focusd on the performance of the aircraft and its rate of decent.
They msut have been using psychic wavelengths in knowing the rate and the glide path since they have stated their nav aids were not working or limited, etc , etc.
There has been a genesis of misinformation that has been put out by the Russians and the latest attempt to discredit the flight skills of the pilot and the rate of decent is proof of this.
Morever, the Russian plane that had two missed approaches seemed to have been carrying the Polish security team.
I’m thinking it was more the other way around from the initial reports, frankly (first they said 4 attempts, then 2, now back to 4 landing attempts — and what about a supposed fuel dump?). The recent work done on the plane IN RUSSIA concerns me as well...
I will be waiting to see what the Poles say regarding the black box. I trust nothing out of Russia frankly, and seeing as the “others” are now in power in Poland as a result it seems likely we may never know the real truth. The acting President is favorable toward Russia compared to Kaczynski... Another troubling detail frankly.
Over Iceland so he can view the volcano close-up???
I’m with you on this. Too many details changing — my response detailed some of the same things — especially how the number of landing attempts has changed.
And why in the heck would the pilots not know the “particularity” of this plane??? That’s ridiculous, IMHO.
Thanks for the ping.
This is just horrible. I can hardly stand to read about it and yet I feel it is my duty to find out what I can.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2494067/posts
FYI ...
The path of the aircraft was not only off on height, it looks like it was left of centerline to the runway.
Not only that, there was the theory that the approach was lower (in a valley) then the actual airport but by the photos, the first contact with a tree shows the tree up high on elevation and what looks to be some type of shallow valley ahead with another ridge further away.
“Scrape... scrape...” yeah I think that would be the sound of doom all right.
No indications why the pilots jettisoned fuel? Sounds like they knew they were in trouble before they pruned the trees!
Me too.
Some reports say the pilots weren’t cooperating with ATC either, which oddly enough was speaking Russian, not the international standard English. ATC wanted them to try landing at a different airport, which jettisoning fuel would render impossible. Could it be the pilots were closet Moose bent on a private jihad?
“Russian investigators said Thursday that initial findings from the jet’s data and flight voice recorders...”
Anyone know if the Poles are right in there investigating with the LRBs?(Lying russian ba$tards) Or are they just being given what the LRBs find out?
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