Plane crash kills 97 Polish officials, including their president

[SoonerMatt]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe...ex.html?hpt=C1

Thousands gathered outside Warsaw's presidential palace on Saturday evening to lay flowers and light candles in honor of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash in western Russia earlier in the day.

Kaczynski's wife and several top military officials were also killed in the crash.

"There is going to be a huge gap in public life in Poland," said resident Magdalena Hendrysiak. "The most important people are dead."

Russian officials said that 97 people were killed when the plane carrying Kaczynski crashed as it was trying to land at an airport near the city of Smolensk.

Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski took over as acting president and declared it "a time for national mourning."

Kaczynski, 60, had been traveling with a Polish delegation to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the Russian massacre of Polish prisoners of war in the village of Katyn. Some 20,000 Poles, including soldiers and civilians, were executed there during World War II.

The event was to be a milestone in the easing of relations between Russia and Poland, strained for decades over Poland's close relationship to the United States and because of lingering ill will over Russia's campaign against the Poles in the 1940s.

To say this is a shock would be a massive understatement.

[TheDarkReaver]

Holy crap, I saw this briefly on the news earlier but I didn't realise it was the President who was on board.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Yeah, that's quite a shock.

[karrot-x]

To everyone that thinks this is a shock...


Who the **** allowed 97 of the highest ranked officials on the same plane?

Seriously.

This is 2010

Who the *#@! allowed that to happen?

[McHaven]

Originally Posted by karrot-x

To everyone that thinks this is a shock...


Who the **** allowed 97 of the highest ranked officials on the same plane?

Seriously.

This is 2010

Who the *#@! allowed that to happen?

I don't know **** 'bout Poland.

[Relic]

For those who are unaware, a little background may help - they were attending a commemoration of the murder of 20,000+ Polish officers, priests, college professors and other intelligentsia at Katyn during WW2. The Soviets executed them in the forests then buried the evidence both literally and figuratively. When the Germans entered that area and discovered it, they reported it to the world figuring it would drive the Allies apart. The Soviets denied it, murdered anyone involved on their side, then blamed the Germans despite overwhelming evidence that it was the Soviets - their own Allies that murdered them. It took until the 1990's for the Soviets, now Russians to finally admit it. There are some there who still deny it and others who still claim that the Poles "deserved it". (There are also many Russians who stand shoulder to shoulder with the Poles on the issue)
Anyway, to Polish culture, this is 911 X a million and almost sacred in the way it's viewed hence the important delegation on the plane.
RIP Kaczysnki i niech zyje Polska

[Relic]

Originally Posted by McHaven

Well, it is Poland. They aren't the biggest player in the world, they have outdated aircraft, and I don't think they're any big target for terrorist organizations. From what I've read, the Polish President has actually ordered the pilots of previous plans to land in unsafe conditions, or lose their jobs. From the recovery of the black boxes, this pilot also attempted to land against the advise of Air traffic controllers.

Poland is one of the biggest and most active Allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they also currently in a process of modernization that's leaving many if not most of the former Warsaw Pact nations in the dust.
They are FAR far from a backwater 3rd world country. Trust me, I lived there for a while.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

It is very sad news. And ironic that it was for a Katyn memorial commemoration.

[Joe Gress]

Very tragic. May they all RIP.

[sleepytime]

What a terrible tragedy. My prayers and condolences go out to the nation of Poland.

[karrot-x]

Originally Posted by McHaven

Well, it is Poland. They aren't the biggest player in the world, they have outdated aircraft, and I don't think they're any big target for terrorist organizations. From what I've read, the Polish President has actually ordered the pilots of previous plans to land in unsafe conditions, or lose their jobs. From the recovery of the black boxes, this pilot also attempted to land against the advise of Air traffic controllers.

Regardless of terrorism, planes can and will fail. There is always something that could happen, in this case it did. This is why we do not allow all of our highest ranking officials in the same room together; there is always someone in a distant protected area.

[Holy War]

Originally Posted by McHaven

Well, it is Poland. They aren't the biggest player in the world, they have outdated aircraft, and I don't think they're any big target for terrorist organizations.

I just busted out laughing at this one. No offence man.

[IconBasser]

damn. What a horrendous irony. The polish president dies while traveling to Russia to make peace with the people who slaughtered his countrymen decades ago.

[newbold]

When this stuff used to happen it was always in South America.

What a strange set of times we live in.

[hdracer]

Is it just me, (maybe from growing up during the cold war) but does this smell fishy, The more I have read about this today the more it doesn't seem right.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by hdracer

Is it just me, (maybe from growing up during the cold war) but does this smell fishy, The more I have read about this today the more it doesn't seem right.

Agreed, but I don`t know. I find it funny in an ironic sort of way, but very sad in a realistic way as well.

Best wishes to Poland and their people.

[doctorjazz]

Very sad situation, although from a black humor perspective it does seem like the punchline to the biggest Polish joke ever.

[bmc]

Horrible accident. Condolences to the family and people of Poland.

Poland has a good safety record. Their national airline flies a mixed bag of US, Brazil and French airplanes. They have no Russian equipment. They're a good airline. As for Russian made equipment, they're bullet proof. There aerobatic airplanes out class everything out their. This will come down to pilot error. I fear the pilot may have suffered from "got to get there-itis" since he was carrying so many dignitaries to such a significant event.

Very sad for Poland. A great country and great people.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by hdracer

Is it just me, (maybe from growing up during the cold war) but does this smell fishy, The more I have read about this today the more it doesn't seem right.

Well, it will take some time before we get a better picture of what happened. It's almost definitely just an accident but there are already some conspiracy theories starting to emerge that quite frankly are a little disturbing. Case in point Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister who is decidedly Russian-leaning was already there for a smaller Katyn ceremony about a week or so before. Why was he there a week before and not on the plane with all of the other important people? Lech Kaczynski who was very USA and West-leaning has his plane go down, now guess who might take over?
??

Originally Posted by doctorjazz

Very sad situation, although from a black humor perspective it does seem like the punchline to the biggest Polish joke ever.

And why would that be? Seriously, don't even go there. Just don't.

[TortillaChip520]

I don't understand why all their highest ranking officials were on the same plane??
The president, vice president, et cetera fly separately in the U.S. for this exact reason.