Apr 10 2010
Polish President, military and civilian leaders killed in plane crash
The AP is reporting this morning that a Tupolev-154 carrying the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and some of the country’s highest military and civilian leaders crashed in heavy fog while trying to land at a military airport in Smolensk, Russia.
On board were the army chief of staff, national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said.
Ninety-six people are said to have died in the crash. The President and other state officials were en route to events marking the seventieth-anniversary of the Katyn massacre.
For an early report on the story, click here.
UPDATE @ 9:21 am CST: RIA Novosti is reporting that human error was the cause of the crash. The death toll is now estimated to be as high as 132.
[...] the wake of the most recent Katyn tragedy, Buchanan has made the same point, though a bit more delicately, presumably to be cognizant of [...]