Polish pilots under pressure to land in Smolensk?
14:29
Polish pilots of the governmental Tu-154 airplane that crashed five years ago in Smoleńsk, Russia were pressured to land at the airfield despite heavy fog, according to transcripts revealed in a report by RMF.FM radio. The military prosecutor's office claims there are many "inconsistencies" in the transcripts.
Transcripts were commissioned by The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) and the so called Miller commission investigating the crash. Captain Marcin Maksjan said that, "None of those entities managed to read all of the statements and to identify all of the speakers. The transcripts are different from each other. They are burdened by several inconsistencies," he added.
According to the transcripts, Poland’s air force commander was in the cockpit during the final approach to the airfield, when he told the two pilots they “will make it easily” even as low-altitude alarms blared, according to RMF.FM.
The commander was to be asking pilots for “ideas” after the first “Terrain Ahead” alarms sounded. Fifteen minutes before the crash, the president’s chief of protocol was instructing the crew to “keep trying until you succeed," the transcripts shows. The transcript contains 30 percent to 40 percent more data than previous versions, according to the radio.
