New evidence found from Polish plane crash that killed leaders

Fresh evidence reportedly retrieved from a plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski in 2010 has reignited a bitter debate into the causes behind the biggest national tragedy in recent Polish history.

The crash took place five years ago this Friday in heavy fog during the approach to an airfield in Smolensk, Russia. It shook Polish society and became a lightning rod for political debate in Poland, sparking politicised conspiracy theories over its cause that drew deep divisions between voters and led to a breakdown of relations between Moscow and Warsaw.

New information reported by local radio station RMF FM on Tuesday suggests the two Polish pilots in command of the Polish Air Force plane were placed under duress by senior officials on board urging them to attempt to land in treacherous conditions, overruling on-board warning systems.

Its release comes just days after Polish prosecutors said they would press charges against two Russian air traffic controllers involved in guiding the aircraft to its intended runway in Smolensk.

Citing transcripts of cockpit recordings obtained during an official military investigation into the crash, which killed all 96 on board including Poland's central bank governor, military chiefs and politicians, the report said that Poland's air force commander was in the cockpit during the plane's attempted landing, and told the pilots they "will make it easily" despite low-altitude warnings.

A spokesman for Poland's Chief Military Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday confirmed the existence of a new transcript, but told reporters that the news report is "subject to a number of inaccuracies". An investigation into the leak would take place, he added.

The crash, which has shaped Poland's political discourse more than any other event since, saw Bronislaw Komorowski of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party replace the late Mr Kaczynski, who was a co-founder of the conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Various members of Polish society, including nationalist right-wing Poles, continue to promote theories such as the crash being the result of a political assassination, or allege that the blame lies with Russian officials. Mr Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw, the current chairman of Law and Justice, has long sought to blame Moscow for the crash.

The Russian-built plane was carrying Mr Kaczynski to a commemoration event in Katyn, where Soviet secret police executed thousands of captured Polish military officers and buried them in mass graves during the second world war.

Since the crash, once-wary but functional ties between Moscow and Warsaw have been shattered by what Poland says is increased Russian aggression against neighbouring Ukraine, including the annexation of Crimea.

Poland has been one of the EU's most hawkish members in opposing Moscow's support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donbass region.

The fresh revelations over the Smolensk disaster come just three days before the fifth anniversary of the crash, and in the midst of an increasingly fractious election battle between Mr Komorowski, who is standing for re-election, and Andrzej Duda, the Law and Justice candidate.

The reported transcript features several attempts by the crew to ask people to be quiet or leave the cockpit, and details from the reported conversations suggest individuals in or near the cockpit were drinking alcohol. There is no suggestion the crew were drinking.

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