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Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Thread Started on Apr 10, 2010, 4:57am »
Polish president killed in plane crash: officials
By Agence France-Presse Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and scores of other people were killed Saturday when the president's plane crashed on landing in the western Russian city of Smolensk, officials said.
The Smolensk regional governor, Sergei Antufiev, said the plane clipped treetops as it approached to land at an airport outside Smolensk and crashed, breaking into several pieces.
Russian television broadcast live footage showing the plane's wreckage scattered in a forest with parts of it still on fire.
Russian news agencies reported there were at least 80 people aboard the plane -- some reports said there were as many as 132 people on board -- and Antufiev said no one had survived.
"It clipped the tops of the trees, crashed down and broke into pieces," the governor of the Smolensk region, Sergei Antufiev, told Russia-24 television news network by telephone from Smolensk.
"There were no survivors."
Officials in Warsaw confirmed that Kaczynski was aboard the plane that crashed and Russian television broadcast video shot earlier Saturday of the president and his wife boarding the plane in Warsaw.
Polish foreign ministry spokesman Piotr Pszkowski said that the army chief of staff and Deputy Foreign Minsiter Andrzej Kremer were also on board the plane.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev immediately appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the head of a commission to investigate the crash and sent Russia's emergency situations minister, Sergei Shoigu, to the site.
The aircraft crashed a few hundred metres short of the runway at the Severny airport outside Smolensk, ITAR-TASS news agency reported, quoting rescuers at the site.
The flight data recorders of the plane had not yet been located but experts were on the scene and the search for them was under way, ITAR-TASS said.
Kaczynski, the identical twin brother of former prime minister Jaroslaw, was on his way to attend commemorative ceremonies at the forest of Katyn in western Russia where 22,000 Poles were killed by Soviet troops 70 years ago.
The crash of his plane occurred three days after Putin and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, together attended a memorial for the victims of the massacre at Katyn.
The Putin-Tusk meeting there was seen as a huge symbolic advance in Russia's often thorny relations with Poland.
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #1 on Apr 10, 2010, 7:20am »
From the BBC
Polish citizens mourn plane crash victims
Polish citizens have been reacting to the news that President Lech Kaczynski and scores of other passengers have been killed in a plane crash in Russia. Send us your comments.
KAMILA KASPRZAK, 24, WARSAW Copyright: Kamila Kasprzak Kamila Kasprzak was in a Warsaw cafe when she heard the news
I was sitting in a cafe when I heard the news. It immediately spread via SMS.
Everybody was shocked. There was a big commotion in the cafe.
Things have calmed down now, but we are all still in a state of shock.
We are waiting for our prime minister to address the nation.
I never supported Kaczynski - he was very unpopular - and some unrefined comments may be heard on the streets today.
But nevertheless - he is our President. Nobody wanted this to happen to him.
People are asking - why did this crash happen?
Kamila Kasprzac, Warsaw
People are suspicious about the nature of the accident. So many important officials were on that plane.
And of course we are preparing for presidential elections this year.
People are asking - why did this crash happen? I think it could cause a huge political argument.
We were already having difficult relations with Russia. They could be even more difficult now.
MONIKA SIDOR, 26, LONDON Copyright: Monika Sidor Monika Sidor is concerned about future relations with Russia
I am shaking all over. I'm in shock. This news is so horrible.
My mother has just been on the phone from Poland - crying to me.
Even though she did not like Kaczynski, she would never wish this on him. And there were so many other passengers on that plane.
There were many familiar faces - faces we all know in Poland - so it feels very personal to us.
The president was from my town - Gdansk. So I did feel a connection to him, even though he was on the right and I am on the left.
'Many questions'
I was in Poland yesterday - at the airport.
It feels very personal - the president was from my home town Monika Sidor, London
Then this morning I get a text from my friend telling me the president is dead. Since then, everyone I know has started calling me.
Will this affect our relations with Russia? That depends what we find out about the crash. There are many questions to be answered.
We hear reports that the plane tried four times to land. So what kind of advice did the Russian air traffic control give the pilots? It doesn't make sense. Remember, these are the best pilots in Poland.
It's a shame because things were improving between Poland and Russia. We haven't been very good friends so everyone was happy that the climate was changing.
Now suddenly, this happens and everything is horrible.
Jaga PolishSite Nothing is black and white. One country's terrorist is another country freedom fighter. Spy is either a hero or a traitor - depending where.
They had a sturdy plane but it was foggy and probably they should not land there.
It is terrible, I am surprised how liitle information about it is in US news. I only have heard CNN talking about it.
It was good that at least prime-minister - Tusk - was not there.
Is it not a twist of the history that they were coming for the Katyn celebration?
Jaga
Yes, the Turpleve 154 Turbine powered passenger aircraft is a very well respected aircraft. It is some what over designed by necessity of required use. For much of Russia is very severe travel conditions dependent upon the season. In as so, these aircraft must by design, be used upon un-paved runway conditions for both take off and landing.
As of noten in this typical use, there is a great amount of rock and gravel absorbed by the airframe thrown by the landing gear wheels. For as the turbine engines are aft, the side mounted engines are more susceptible to ingestion of some debris, for this reason, they were engineered for protection.
I do realize Spiegel is some what very well used for information, but non-the-less, was very well informed.
Joined: Nov 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,657 Location: Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #5 on Apr 10, 2010, 11:07am »
The plane itself wasn't the problem. It was getting old, but had been recently refitted with new equipment.
The Smolensk air traffic controllers told the pilot of the plane not to land there because of bad weather and suggested landing in Minsk instead. However, the pilot ignored the advice and tried to land in Smolensk, and this is what happened.
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #6 on Apr 10, 2010, 12:53pm »
I am very sorry for Polish People of Poland. I do hope you be strong for next few days. It will be tough for you. I hope Poland find something about what cause plane to crash.
Joined: Sept 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,297 Location: Stany Zjednoczone
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #8 on Apr 11, 2010, 3:30pm »
Mr. Kaczynski's daughter, Marta, center, and his twin brother, Jaroslaw, right, paid their respects at the coffin at the airport.
Quote:
In the dark aftermath of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Poland’s president and dozens of top politicians and policymakers, Poles have found solace and even hope in the performance of their young democracy, the smooth transition and the surprising unity in a long-fractured political environment.
Joined: Sept 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,297 Location: Stany Zjednoczone
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #9 on Apr 12, 2010, 4:06am »
In churches and at memorials, Polish immigrants worldwide mourn plane crash victims
SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press Writer
April 11, 2010
CHICAGO (AP) — Polish immigrants and their descendants around the world shared the anguish of their mother country on Sunday, mourning the 96 victims of a devastating plane crash as they crowded into Polish-language Masses.
Millions of Poles have emigrated over nearly two centuries, establishing large communities in the United States and Britain. They coped with Saturday's death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of other military, church and government officials through vigils, prayer and writing.
"It was like losing a family member," said Blanche Weigand, whose mother immigrated from Poland to Chicago in 1950. "I'm from Chicago, but my heart is in Poland."
Weigand grew up speaking fluent Polish and eating her mother's pierogi, and stays in touch with her Polish cousins each week through Skype.
The nation is in mourning after the crash, which occurred in Russia near Katyn forest. The dignitaries had been on their way to Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the massacre there of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet forces.
Weigand said the crash makes her want to go to Poland, while her 88-year-old mother hasn't been able to talk about the tragedy at all. Instead, she cries, is plagued by headaches and recounts painful memories of being captured by Nazis.
"She's reliving all of it and it hurts," Weigand said.
Families of Polish descent packed churches in Chicago, London and elsewhere. At London's St. Andrew Bobola Polish Roman Catholic Church, parishioners mourned one of their priests, Monsignor Bronislaw Gostomski, who died in the crash, along with Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president of a Polish government-in-exile based in London during World War II and the communist years.
"When the Polish people have any kind of a tragedy, they pray, they go to church," said Anna Szpindor, who was born in Poland and went to medical school there but lives in South Barrington, Ill.
"They feel this solidarity, this unity in a church environment," the 55-year-old said before she entered Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Chicago.
In New York, several hundred people stood outside St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, unable to squeeze into its Polish-language Mass.
There are also significant populations of Polish descendants in Argentina and southern Brazil. In Curitiba, Brazil, special Masses were celebrated Sunday morning to honor those killed in the plane crash, the Rev. Zenon Sikorski said.
The Argentine-Polish Cultural Association issued a statement saying it shares Poland's "profound pain over the tragic accident."
An estimated 300,000 Poles emigrated to Argentina between 1897 and 1950. Laborers mostly went to larger cities like Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario, while those with farming backgrounds principally settled in the northeast.
Dozens of mourners in the Chicago area, home to the largest concentration of people of Polish descent outside of Poland, came Sunday to the largely Polish St. Adalbert Cemetery in suburban Niles, Ill. They paid homage at a memorial sculpture to the 1940 Katyn massacre, which was designed by Chicago artist Wojciech Seweryn, who was also killed in the crash.
The sculpture — featuring the Virgin Mary holding a wounded officer — was covered with hundreds of candles, flowers and Polish flags. Two journals lay at the memorial sculpture, filled with hundreds of entries in Polish expressing sorrow, grief and shock.
"It is a great disappointment for Poland, this tragedy happened with Polish officers in 1940, now with the president in 2010," one read.
Another read simply, "Never Forgotten."
Many immigrants said they still have strong ties to Poland, with family or property there. Many make regular trips home, and some plan to eventually move back.
"The Poles keep their ties to Poland, that's just a fact," said the Rev. Anthony Bus, pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, the first Polish parish in Chicago. It opened in 1867.
Maria Balcer, 65, a recent immigrant, sat in a pew at Polish National Catholic Church in Brooklyn and cried. She had been up until 2 a.m. watching television coverage of the crash, she said.
"The tragedy is terrible, a horrible feeling in my heart," she said.
Teresa Karwowska, 56, her husband, Antoni Karwowski, 56, and their family attended a Polish Mass on Sunday morning and planned to attend a memorial service that day for the crash victims.
"What happened on Saturday, it kind of opened people's eyes to what happened in the Katyn massacre," Karwowska said, in Polish translated by her son. She said the family would observe a week of mourning for the plane crash victims with no music, no sports and prayer.
Joined: Nov 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,657 Location: Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #10 on Apr 12, 2010, 11:18am »
The map in that article has a mistake. What is labeled "BUL." (presumably to mean Bulgaria) is actually Belarus. The real Bulgaria is quite a distance to the south.
The map in that article has a mistake. What is labeled "BUL." (presumably to mean Bulgaria) is actually Belarus. The real Bulgaria is quite a distance to the south.
Glad you caught that Eric. I was worried for a bit thinking what is wrong with this picture.
Joined: Nov 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,657 Location: Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #12 on Apr 12, 2010, 2:57pm »
Just a case of people not paying attention. All those "Bels" and "Buls" get confusing for people who normally don't care very much about this part of the world. Then again, I know plenty of Americans who can't tell the difference between Iraq and Iran.
Joined: Sept 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,297 Location: Stany Zjednoczone
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #13 on Apr 13, 2010, 6:18am »
Polish First Lady’s Body Returned Home
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 13, 2010
WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- The body of Poland's first lady was flown home from Russia to an emotional welcome Tuesday and Parliament held a special observance in memory of the president and lawmakers killed in the plane crash.
Maria Kaczynska's body, in a wooden casket draped with Poland's white-and-red flag, arrived in a military CASA plane shortly after 10:30 a.m. at Warsaw's Okecie airport. It was met by Kaczynska's only child, Marta, and by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, her brother-in-law who was also the twin of the late president.
Kaczynska's body was ferried to the Presidential Palace in the back of a Mercedes-Benz hearse, just like her husband's was a day ago. Despite Tuesday's being a work day, thousands of Warsaw residents lined the route, gently lobbing bouqets of tulips and roses on top of the black vehicle.
''I'm here because it's such a tragedy for Poland,'' said Maja Jelenicka, 63. ''I'm in despair. I feel as if I've lost a close relative. Maria Kaczynska was a wonderful woman, kind, with a heart of gold and a real first lady.''
The bodies of the first couple are to lie in state in closed coffins in the Columned Hall of the Presidential Palace, where the president appointed and dismissed governments.
The body of Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president of Poland's government-in-exile in London, will be brought back on Wednesday and his coffin will probably also be put on public display, Senate Speaker Bogdan Borusewicz said.
Kaczorowski's family has asked that his coffin be placed in the smaller presidential palace of Belweder, some 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the main palace.
A state funeral is likely for Saturday though Borusewicz, the top lawmaker in the Polish senate, said Sunday remained an option as well.
Investigators have suggested that human error may have been to blame in Saturday's crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others, saying Monday there were no technical problems with the Soviet-made plane.
The Tu-154 went down while trying to land in dense fog at Smolensk in western Russia. All aboard were killed, including President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of Polish political, military and religious leaders.
They had been traveling in the Polish government-owned plane to attend a memorial in the nearby Katyn forest for thousands of Polish military officers executed 70 years ago by Josef Stalin's secret police.
So far, 87 bodies have been recovered and 40 of them identified, Polish Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet said.
Joined: Sept 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,297 Location: Stany Zjednoczone
Re: Polish President KILLED IN PLANE CRASH « Reply #14 on Apr 13, 2010, 11:10am »
The pilot: Captain Arkadiusz Protasiuk was flying the Polish presidential plane that crashed near Smolensk airport
Quote:
The Russian government prevented the Polish president's plane from landing four times to divert him from a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, according to an MP. Artur Gorski said the Russians 'came up with some dubious reasons' that the aircraft couldn't land because they feared President Leck Kaczynski's presence would overshadow a similar event hosted by the Russian prime minister a few days before. And their alleged plan ended in disaster when the Polish pilots made one final and disastrous attempt to land, killing Mr Kaczynski, his wife, and 94 others on board the plane.
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