Poland: Smolensk air disaster was caused by an explosion onboard the aircraft
The cause of death for members of the government delegation that crashed near Smolensk in 2010 was an explosion that occurred aboard the Tu-154M plane, as stated by Antoni Macierewicz, Chairman of the Sub-commission on the investigation of the Smolensk disaster and former Polish National Defense Minister, during a live broadcast on the TV channel TVP1.
"The passengers were killed by an explosion in the center wing before colliding with the ground. This [explosion] was their cause of death," said Macierewicz.
According to Macierewicz, the theory that the plane was destroyed by the explosion is supported by the fact that the doors of the plane are mired into the ground with significant force. However, other fragments of the aircraft revealed impact from high temperatures. The theory of an explosion aboard the aircraft is also supported by experiments conducted by the government sub-commission.
Macierewicz noted that the explosion in the center wing occurred with such force that the Polish generals who were sitting in this part of the plane were blown up into small fragments.
He also said that a technical report on the causes of the disaster will be made public for several weeks.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s Tu-154 plane crashed in 2010 during a landing at Smolensk-Severny airport. There were 96 people onboard at the time; all were lost.