Russian investigators say Poland’s version of explosion on Kaczynski’s plane not confirmed

The Russian Investigative Committee (SKR) has said it has no questions left about the causes behind the 2010 crash of then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s plane. The Polish side’s version of events regarding an explosion on board the plane could not be confirmed, representative of the SKR Svetlana Petrenko said on Friday. “A set of factors led to the tragedy,” Sputnik quoted her as saying. She cited “the failure of the commander of the crew to take timely action” to go to an alternate aerodrome because of weather conditions and other “inaccurate actions of the crew in the face of a reduction in the visibility of landmarks.” The version of events involving an explosion was checked as a top priority and did not find any confirmation, the spokeswoman said. “An additional inspection of the aircraft’s fragments is an exclusive desire of the Polish side that we are ready to fulfill within the framework of close cooperation during the investigation,” she added. The Tu-154 plane with 96 people on board crashed during landing at the Smolensk-Severny Airport en route to memorial events in Katyn, and those on board died.