Crash of the Polish Air Force One, 2014 Status Report
By Maria Szonert Binienda, J.D.
SCNDMSB2014SR

V. Russian Report

A. Omissions

The Russian Report omits many important issues, including proper analysis of the last phase of the flight, role of the air navigation services and facility, performance of the air traffic control group, and the analysis of airplane incident history. Similarly, no explanation as to the cause of the unusually extensive damage to the airplane is provided and the lack of survivors is not examined. A request for the air test at the Severny airdrome on the day of the crash was disregarded, and an inquiry regarding suspicious activities in the airspace of the Severny airdrome on the day of the crash was ignored. Credible terrorist threat alerts reported on the eve of the crash were not considered, and other known threats against the victims of the Smolensk Crash were ignored. No in-depth analysis of the crash site was presented and no discussion on the conditions of the bodies was provided.

Furthermore, the mechanical failure of the aircraft was ruled out from the outset of the investigation and the possibility of a technical malfunction was not examined. Most importantly, a major malfunction of the airplane during the inter-continental flight from Poland to Haiti on January 23, 2010, was not even mentioned in the Russian Report. During this flight the airplane experienced serious problems with autopilot and the steering systems. From the time the aircraft returned from general overhaul performed in Samara, Russia, in December 2009, to the time of the crash three months later, eleven serious mechanical failures of the aircraft were recorded.⁶⁵

Findings from the first inspection of the crash scene on April 10th and 11th 2010 conducted by Russian prosecutors were not incorporated into the Russian Report. The document was hidden over several years and when leaked to the public it revealed many discrepancies with the Russian Report.

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Footnotes:

⁶⁵ Łukasz Orłowski, „11 usterek w trzy miesiące,” TVN24, July 21, 2010; http://bit.ly/1mCnzvN