You're reading: Poland casts doubt on Russian plane crash finding

WARSAW, Poland — Polish investigators cast doubt Monday on a Russian assertion that a Polish air force general pressured pilots into making a risky landing in fog that resulted in the 2010 plane crash that killed Poland's president.

Statements by the Polish investigators added to a sense of distrust toward Russia that has deepened following the plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, that killed President Lech Kaczynski and all 95 other people aboard, many of them top Polish civilian and military leaders.

Russian investigators said a year ago that a voice on the black box of the plane was that of the Polish air force commander, Gen. Andrzej Blasik. They said he had alcohol in his blood, and that his presence in the cockpit and words he spoke to the pilots put them under psychological pressure to attempt a dangerous landing.

That allegation shocked and infuriated many Poles. Those of a patriotic bent in particular felt that their country’s dignity was being attacked by Russia, a historic foe.

A Polish military prosecutor, Ireneusz Szelag, said at a news conference in Warsaw that new examinations of the black box could not turn up evidence that Blasik was in the cockpit. He said that a number of voices have been isolated on the recording, but not all have been identified.

Though the remarks by Szelag and other investigators were of a preliminary nature and left many questions unanswered, they dominated news coverage in Poland, adding to a feeling of suspicion in how Russia has dealt with the aftermath of the crash.

Poles were also furious that the Russian findings, announced last year, put sole blame on the Poles.

A separate Polish investigation last year took issue with that. It said some blame should also go to Russia, in particular to Russian air traffic controllers who did not deny permission for landing during conditions of bad visibility. It also cited the rudimentary state of the Russian airport.