On April 10, 2010, Poland's president Lech Kaczynski was killed in a plane crash at age 61. The plane tried to land in western Russia during a thick fog. Instead of landing on the runway, the plane hit the tops of trees and then broke into pieces. Also killed on the plane were 96 others, including his wife Maria, commanders of all four branches of Poland's military, head of the nation's central bank, deputy foreign minister, and other top advisers. Out of the 97 killed, 8 of them were crew members. Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said that the crash was the most tragic event in the country since World War II.
Lech Kaczynski was on his way to a memorial ceremony in honor of the killing of more than 20,000 Polish officers by Soviet secret police 70 years ago. The plane the president and others were riding on was a 20-year-old Soviet-designed Tupolev Tu-154. The presidential plane has needed upgrades for several years. Until a presidential election is held, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament, Bronislaw Komoroqski, will be president. President Kaczynski had a very right-wing Catholic agenda. He also favored retaining social welfare programs and opposed rapid free-marked reforms.
Since the massacre, relations between Poland and Russia were strained. Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, had decided to attend the ceremony, which was seen as a gesture of reconciliation. After the tragedy, Vladimir Putin visited the crash site. He wanted to personally oversee the crash investigation. Barack Obama (United States), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Angela Merkel (Germany), and Gordon Brown (United Kingdom) all offered Poland their condolences.
I think the plane crash is very sad. Sometimes when tragic things happen they don't grab my interest, but this did. I immediately wanted to know more about the crash and the ceremony he was suppose to attend. As I read on many sites I looked at, the presidential plane had needed upgrades for many years. I wonder if upgrades on the plane could have helped. Then again, they were flying through fog too. I wonder what was wrong with the pilot to not land somewhere else or take a different way. Isn't that what pilots are suppose to do in bad weather? I hope Poland can replace the lost positions with people who will be good for the job. It will be very hard of them to replace 88 government people! Although I'm not very educated on Poland, I'm sure their Prime Minister was right when he said this crash was the most tragic event in the country since World War II. Of course the accidental killing of your president and many important government leaders is tragic! I hope Poland can repair themselves the best they can.
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