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Poland Preparing to Close Case of 2010 Plane Crash Near Smolensk - Prosecutor's Office

WARSAW (Sputnik) - Poland is preparing to close the case of the plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk in 2010, which killed then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the Polish prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
Sputnik
A meeting has been scheduled with the victims in the case and their lawyers on April 25, the office said in a statement.
"The purpose of the meeting is to provide victims and their representatives with comprehensive information about the progress of the investigation, the procedural actions completed so far, actions that have not been completed due to lack of cooperation on the part of Russia, agreements reached at the current stage of the investigation, as well as planned actions to terminate the proceedings," the statement read.
World
Poland to Retract Theories About Russian Responsibility for Tu-154 Plane Crash in 2010
A year after the tragedy, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) announced after an investigation that the immediate cause of the crash was the crew's decision not to seek an alternate airfield in foggy conditions, and that the systemic causes could be attributed to shortcomings in pilot training.
The Polish commission headed by former interior minister Jerzy Miller came to similar conclusions at the time, citing the cause of the crash as the aircraft descending below the minimum altitude allowed in foggy conditions. Polish authorities later disagreed with the IAC report and the conclusions of Miller's commission and went on to set up a second commission, which has been unable to complete its work.
World
Poland's Demand on Return of Kaczynski's Plane Wreckage Untenable, Russian Ministry Says
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and National Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the Smolensk plane crash was a tragic incident, adding that different theories as to why the air disaster happened were not confirmed.
"The question is clear to me. It is clear to the majority of Poles. A tragic accident happened. A great tragedy occurred. And those who have been and are trying to put forward different theories over the years have not been successful and [the theories] have not been justified," Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters during the commemorative events that are taking place in Poland on Wednesday to mark the 14th anniversary of the plane crash.
The Polish defense minister confirmed that the report on the commission's work to investigate the air disaster would be completed by late June.
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