Russian Investigators Deny Version of Blast Aboard President Kaczynski's Plane

07:10 GMT, 31 August 2018

The Russian Investigative Committee has no questions left about the causes behind the crash of Kaczynski's plane; the Polish side’s version about an explosion found no confirmation, official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko said.

Sputnik

"I emphasize that the Russian investigation has no questions about the reasons for what happened. A set of factors led to the tragedy. This is the failure of the commander of the crew to take timely action to go to an alternate aerodrome because of the actual weather conditions at the airfield in Smolensk. And the inaccurate actions of the crew in the face of a reduction in the visibility of landmarks, the continuation of the approach, as well as the lack of a proper reaction and the required action despite the repeated activation of the early warning system about approaching the ground," Petrenko said.

Polish Defense Minister: 'Explosion' Detected on Kaczynski Plane's Black Box

15 October 2017, 02:43 GMT

Petrenko noted that all other versions, including those voiced by the Polish side, had been carefully checked. In particular, the version about an explosion was checked as a top priority and did not find any justification. Specialists from the Interstate Aviation Committee came to the same conclusions as a result of their own investigation.

"Therefore, an additional inspection of the aircraft’s fragments is an exclusive desire of the Polish side that we are ready to fulfill within the framework of close cooperation during the investigation into this criminal case," she added.

In 2010 the Tu-154 plane of then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed during landing at the Smolensk-Severny airport. There were 96 people on board, including 88 passengers and eight crew members en route to memorial events in Katyn. All those aboard the aircraft died.