Original subtitles

Narrator: On April 10, 2010,

a plane crash claimed the life

of Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Man: How could it have happened that the plane crashed

and didn't reach the airport?

Narrator: And it happened on Russian soil.

Man: This was a chief of state of a neighboring country

on an extremely sensitive political mission.

Narrator: Russian experts have conducted an investigation

and reported their findings:

The Polish pilots are at fault.

Man: It seemed there was some kind of dirty trick here.

Man: Conspiracy theories sprung up immediately.

Narrator: Polish Interior Minister Jerzy Miller

has examined the evidence

and has come to a different conclusion.

Jerzy Miller, translated: Everyone understood

the importance of this investigation.

Narrator: The stakes go far beyond aviation safety.

The pride of a nation and even its political future

may hang in the balance.

Man: It's not every day

that they have to investigate a plane crash

and it's a matter of top political importance.

Flight attendant: Ladies and gentlemen, we are starting our approach.

Pilot: We lost both engines!

Flight Attendant: Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Pilot: Mayday, mayday.

Flight Attendant: Brace for impact!

Controller: I think I lost one.

Man: Investigation starting...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator: July 29, 2011.

Jerzy Miller is preparing to reveal the results

of Poland's independent investigation

into the devastating crash at Smolensk airport.

It all started 15 months earlier.

Polish air force flight 101 is carrying 89 passengers,

including president Lech Kaczynski.

Four of Poland's best pilots are in the cockpit.

They're elite military airmen

from the country's special aviation regiment.

Man: Have you decided yet?

Man: Throttle down.

Man: Throttle down.

Narrator: Just after ten o'clock,

the plane begins its descent to Smolensk.

The state flight from Warsaw took off at 9:27 this morning.

The passengers are a cross section

of the Polish elite,

dignitaries on their way to mark

a grim and controversial anniversary.

Jerzy Miller, translated: This anniversary

was on April the 10th.

It was a great Polish tragedy--

the murder of Polish soldiers in World War II, by Stalin.

Narrator: In 1940, Stalinist forces

marched 22,000 Polish officers and intellectuals

into Russia's Katyn forest to be executed.

Man: The Soviet Government took the decision--

the document still exists--

to murder them all.

Narrator: For decades after World War II,

the Soviet Union held Poland's firmly in its grip.

Until the fall of communism,

the Soviets denied all responsibility

for the Katyn massacre.

Sergey Yakimov, translated: The history of Polish-Russian relations

has been very difficult,

especially when it comes to the Soviet period...

Because no one wanted to have blood on their hands

for shooting the Polish officers.

Konstsanty Gebert: For the first time, the Russian Government

was acknowledging the crime committed

and the pain that the poles still feel for that crime.

Narrator: Few understand Poland's troubled past better

than President Kaczynski.

He's a highly respected statesman with political roots

in the anti-communist solidarity movement of the 1980s.

Gebert: Kaczynski cared extremely deeply

about Polish national tradition,

wanted to be there to commemorate the deaths

on the anniversary of the massacre.

Narrator: By visiting the memorial near the site of the massacre,

the Polish President is taking an important step

towards reconciliation.

Yakimov: Of course,

there was a lot of media attention for this event.

We started preparing and making arrangements

around two weeks ahead of time.

Narrator: The man who has organized this momentous occasion

is director of protocol Mariusz Kazana.

Mariusz Kazana: Water for you, sir.

Narrator: President Kaczynski and his wife...

Kazana: Ma'am?

Narrator: ...are joined by many of Poland's top brass,

including Lieutenant General Andrzej Blasik,

commander of the Polish air force.

There are also descendants of the victims of the massacre

traveling to today's ceremony.

Gebert: To the extent

that I can attempt to imagine their mood,

it would have been solemn and powerful and sad.

Narrator: The elite crew is flying a Tupolev TU-154M,

an extremely popular Russian-built plane.

As they get closer to the airport,

the workload picks up.

Flight engineer Andrzej Michalak

must calculate engine performance.

Andrzej Michalak: May I please have the temperature and pressure?

Man: I'll tell you what the temperature is--

cold.

Narrator: He needs some vital information from the tower.

Man: Are we going to speak Russian?

Man: Yes.

Narrator: English is the international language of civil aviation.

But since Smolensk is a military airport,

controllers here speak only Russian.

Passenger jets don't normally land at this base.

But for the Polish delegation,

it's the closest runway to the Katyn memorial.

Alexander Stepchenkov, translated: This was a military airfield

and the incoming flight was, as a matter of fact, civilian.

It doesn't matter that the crew was made up of members

of a special division of the Polish military.

The plane was flying

according to the rules of civilian aviation.

Narrator: Captain Arkadiusz Protasiuk

is the only member of this Polish crew

who speaks Russian.

He'll have to handle the communication with the tower.

Polish one-zero-one. Good morning.

Controller: Polish one-zero-one, acknowledge.

Polish air force, we have fog.

Visibility is 400 meters.

Protasiuk: Understood.

Polish Air Force 101.

Heavy fog. Visibility's only 400 meters.

Yakimov: The fog was so dense, nothing was visible.

You couldn't see your hand in front of your face

or the person standing next to you.

Narrator: Smolensk airbase doesn't have the equipment

needed for a radio-guided landing.

Stepchenkov: It is not the best technologically equipped

airfield in our country.

Narrator: The pilots will first have to descend

to just above 300 feet,

then look for the runway.

Once they spot it, they will have to land manually.

Protasiuk: Temperature and pressure, please.

Man: Temperature is plus two.

Pressure is 7-4-5.

We do not have landing conditions.

Protasiuk: Continuing our approach.

If we're unable to land, we'll go around on autopilot.

Narrator: Captain Protasiuk takes his plane lower

to get a first-hand look at landing conditions.

Stepchenkov: From their flying experience

the crew knew that fog can be uneven.

One minute it can be very dense,

but 10 or 15 minutes later, the wind can clear it.

Narrator: But as they get closer,

the fog gets even thicker.

Controller: Approaching outer marker.

On course.

Narrator: Then, the situation takes a turn for the worse.

As the crew strains to catch sight of the runway,

the sound of an alarm suddenly fills the cockpit.

Navigator: 100 meters.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Protasiuk: We are leaving for a go-around.

Narrator: In the cabin,

passengers are preparing for an imminent landing.

Computer Alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Navigator: 90 meters.

Narrator: But the crew is struggling to make the plane climb.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Navigator: 40.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Navigator: 30.

20!

Controller: Depart for the go-around.

How long has it been?

Narrator: One of the darkest days in Polish history,

a day that was to have been commemorated

by the president himself,

will now be remembered for yet another tragedy.

At the Katyn memorial,

hundreds of people await the arrival

of the Polish delegation.

But what they get instead is devastating news.

The president's plane has crashed.

Yakimov: No one could imagine

that something like this tragedy, this crash,

could happen.

When we heard the first rumors

that the Polish plane had crashed,

we thought it was a foolish joke.

But then, after about ten minutes,

we saw how the Polish people were hugging and crying.

There was a witness who used a cell phone

to record the very first seconds of the tragedy

when you could still see the fire,

when the fuel was still burning.

Narrator: Minutes after the crash,

military personnel and rescuers

converge on a forest 1,300 feet from the runway.

They discover a scene of total destruction.

The charred remnants of the president's plane

litter the ground.

Andrey Kasianov, translated: When I got to the crash site,

my first impression was, "when did they remove all the bodies?"

But after I got a closer look, the picture was very sad.

There were body fragments.

96 people, and not a single full body.

I couldn't even imagine this was possible.

Narrator: No one has survived.

It's a monumental tragedy.

Kasianov: The only thing I could see that had survived

was the wreath they were bringing to the Katyn memorial.

Narrator: With suspicions mounting

about how such a disaster could happen,

Russian air accident investigators

arrive at the crash site.

Investigator: We'll need a command post.

See what we have to work with.

Narrator: They are members

of the inter-state aviation committee

known as the M.A.K.

Russian Investigator: Let's start over there.

Narrator: Their task will be to figure out

what happened and why.

Investigator: We need to map every quadrant.

Gebert: It's not every day

that they have to investigate a plane crash

and it's a matter of top political importance.

Narrator: News of the Polish President's death

on Russian soil

stuns all of Poland's.

Miller: I thought about the people onboard the plane...

Because, you see,

I knew most of the passengers personally.

Narrator: As the nation grieves,

shock and sadness soon become mixed with suspicion.

Gebert: My first thought was, "was it an attack?"

Because of the deeply hostile relationship

between Poland's and Russia's,

conspiracy theories sprung up immediately.

Narrator: Many poles are convinced

the world has just witnessed an assassination--

a targeted killing orchestrated

by President Kaczynski's political adversaries.

Gebert: These were accusations

that not only the crash was an intentional attack

by the Russians,

but that the Polish Goverment knew it

and was actually in cahoots with the Russians

in order to eliminate a dangerous political opponent.

Narrator: With so many high-ranking officials now dead,

some fear Poland's entire goverment may collapse.

Gebert: I was terribly concerned

that we might not make it,

that these were the 100 out of the 400

most important people in Poland's.

I wasn't sure if we've produced a state

that can weather this shock.

Narrator: At the crash site,

the evidence is pointing in a direction

that will not sit well with poles.

Investigator: Why would they even try to land in this fog?

Narrator: Some claim the Polish pilots

should not have tried to land in the heavy fog.

The suggestion raises anger in Poland's.

Gebert: For the partisans of the conspiracy theory,

it was just another Russian whitewash.

Narrator: Poland's leaders are desperate to uncover the truth

about the crash.

They send their own investigators

to work alongside the Russians.

Maciej Lasek, translated: It was a big challenge.

Altogether there were 34 people

fully engaged in conducting research on this crash.

Polish investigator: What have you got so far?

Miller: We approached the investigation

with sound procedures,

meaning that, in the beginning,

we assumed that every potential cause was possible.

And then we gradually eliminated what didn't fit.

Narrator: They launch a painstaking search

for any evidence that the flight may have been brought down

by assassins.

Miller: We also checked to see

if there was any trace of explosives

on the airplane wreckage.

Narrator: Careful analysis by both Russian and Polish experts

reveals no explosive residue on the wreckage...

No sign that the plane was shot down.

Investigators on both sides agree:

The crash is a tragic accident, not a political assassination.

Miller: That possibility was ruled out very quickly

because of the complete lack of evidence.

Narrator: Investigators must find the plane's black boxes.

Polish Investigator: Excuse me.

Any sign of the flight recorders?

Russian Investigator: Not yet.

But it's our top priority.

Polish Investigator: You know, of course, we need all three.

Russian investigator: Of course.

Narrator: With suspicion growing at home,

Polish investigators anxiously want to get their hands

on all of the plane's recorders.

The Tupolev had three.

The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder

are Russian made.

Man: Have you decided yet?

Narrator: They will reveal what the pilots said

and how the airplane performed.

A third Polish-made device called the quick access recorder

also captures flight data,

but it can only be read

by the device's Polish manufacturer.

If the Russian and Polish data match,

investigators will be assured

that no one has tampered with either machine.

Lasek: It was essential

because we expected to hear suspicions

or accusations from the public

that the data read by the M.A.K. Experts

had been tampered with.

Narrator: While the search for the recorders continues,

investigators seek answers from the air traffic controller

on duty that morning.

They want to know why the pilots tried to land in such heavy fog.

Man: They were not coming in to land.

They were only doing a trial approach.

Narrator: They learn that the crew was warned

about the poor visibility.

Man: We do not have landing conditions.

Narrator: But they wanted to judge conditions for themselves.

Controller: Polish 101,

from 100 meters be prepared to do a go-around.

Narrator: The plan was to descend to just over 300 feet,

then fly over the airport.

Controller: At 100 meters that was the decision height.

Lasek: Approaching below the minimum

always brings the risk of hitting objects on the ground.

After that, there's no certainty that attempting a go-around

can be done safely.

Narrator: But investigators are puzzled.

Something doesn't add up.

Even at around 300 feet,

the plane should have easily cleared the trees.

Surveying the forest,

they work to identify the first tree the Tupolev slammed into.

They find it about a half a mile from the runway.

Russian investigator: Pilots hit the tree

at 11 meters.

Narrator: If they intended to fly at ten times that height,

how did they hit the tree?

Polish investigator: We need more information.

Narrator: For some reason,

the presidential jet was flying dangerously low

as it sped toward the airport.

Was it a failure of the Russian plane,

or a mistake by the Polish crew?

Investigators in the Polish tragedy

get a major break in the case.

They find the two Russian-made black boxes.

The Polish flight recorder, though,

remains buried in the wreckage.

Polish Investigator: Any sign of the AR?

Russian investigator: Not yet.

Narrator: The flight data recorder may hold valuable clues

about what doomed the president's plane.

The device is rushed to the M.A.K. Laboratory in Moscow.

Investigators download the data,

searching for any sign of an onboard mechanical failure.

But the analysis comes up empty.

Russian investigator: It looks like everything was functioning.

Narrator: Until the moment the plane struck the first tree,

there was no malfunction whatsoever.

Russian investigator: We'll send you a copy of the data.

Narrator: It's beginning to look like the initial speculation

is true.

The Polish pilots may be at fault.

Polish investigators need to be sure

the Russian data has not been tampered with.

Their only hope

is to find the missing Polish-made flight recorder.

But so far, the search is proving fruitless.

Miller: Only by combining all of the parameters

could we answer the questions:

Did the crew follow procedures?

Was the plane working properly to the end?

Narrator: Meanwhile,

investigators from both countries

turn their attention to the cockpit voice recorder.

Wieslaw Jedynak, translated: This is a very important element

that helps accident investigators

understand the crew's last moments in the plane.

Russian investigator: All ready?

Let's go ahead.

Narrator: They immediately notice something unusual.

Polish Investigator: That sounds like the captain.

Narrator: The captain is the one making radio calls

to air traffic control,

and he's doing it in Russian.

Russian Investigator: Why's the captain making the radio calls?

Narrator: Proper aviation procedures

call for the navigator to handle the radio

while the captain concentrates on flying the plane.

Narrator: Investigators suspect

the captain decided to handle the radio himself

because he was the only one who could speak Russian.

Lasek: The captain who was flying the plane

was in charge of the crew

and handling the radio communication.

His workload was too heavy.

Narrator: Moments later,

the recording reveals something even more surprising.

Protasiuk: Mr. Director, fog has rolled in.

In the conditions we have right now,

we'll not be able to land.

Russian Investigator: Who is he talking to?

Protasiuk: Mr. Director, the fog has rolled in.

In the conditions we have right now,

we will not be able to land.

We'll make an attempt, but it probably won't work.

Kazana: Then we have a problem.

Polish Investigator: Sounds like Kazana,

the director of protocol.

Russian Investigator: What is he doing in the cockpit?

Narrator: The pilots were not alone in the cockpit.

Jedynak: We could hear voices of people

who were definitely not crew members.

And this meant that the cockpit was accessible

to people who were not part of the flight crew.

Controller: From 100 meters, be prepared to do a go-around.

Protasiuk: Acknowledged.

Narrator: Safety rules forbid visitors in the cockpit

at key points in the flight.

Jedynak: It was surprising

because it confirmed that the cockpit wasn't sterile.

There's a rule that, below a certain altitude,

pilots should be isolated from the rest of the plane

so they can concentrate on their tasks.

Narrator: It now appears

the presence of so many top officials on board

affected the decision to land.

Kazana: Sir, I have some news from the cockpit.

Lasek: We described it as indirect pressure,

the pressure resulting from the weight of the task

and the mission the aircrew was completing.

Narrator: Some Investigators believe

general Blasik also visited the cockpit.

As the mystery behind the crash of air force 101 grows deeper,

one thing is clear.

Gebert: In a crash,

be it an air crash or a political crash

or a crash in human relations,

very seldom there's just one factor.

Narrator: There is much more to this tragedy

than simple pilot error.

Narrator: While Poland's mourns the loss of its president,

suspicion and doubt still linger over the cause of his death.

Conspiracy theories are spreading.

Yakimov: The Polish media distrusted the information

provided by the Russian experts.

It seemed there was some kind of dirty trick here.

Narrator: But at the crash site,

investigators have uncovered the one thing

that could erase many of those suspicions--

the Polish-made flight recorder.

Finally, Polish experts can study the data

from both flight recorders side by side.

They look for any discrepancy,

any hint that the black box data has been altered.

After a careful analysis,

they reach a definitive conclusion.

Polish Investigator: All the data's here.

Narrator: The two sets of data are a perfect match.

Lasek: It was important for us

because it removed all doubt

that the data might have been manipulated.

Narrator: With the data verified,

investigators refocus their attention

on the cockpit voice recorder.

Controller: Turn on your landing lights.

Protasiuk: Lights on.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Narrator: They hear a warning

that the plane is dangerously low.

But strangely, the pilots don't seem to react to it.

Protasiuk: You can't see a thing.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Polish Investigator: Why aren't they concerned about their altitude?

Russian Investigator: They should be.

Jedynak: The reactions of the pilots and the crew

should be immediate, without any hesitation.

When we listened to the recordings

for the first time

and heard the very clear system warnings,

it was very surprising that the crew didn't react properly.

Controller: Turn on your landing lights.

Narrator: Investigators are puzzled by the crew's behavior.

They compare the plane's intended flight path

to the altitudes called out by the navigator.

Navigator: 100 meters.

Computer alarm: Pull up. Terrain, terrain...

Navigator: 90 meters.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Navigator: 40.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain, terrain, terrain...

Navigator: 30.

Navigator: 20!

Russian Investigator: Stop.

Narrator: Just after the navigator calls out 65 feet,

the unmistakable sound

of the plane hitting the first tree.

Russian Investigator: 20 meters?

Polish Investigator: They hit the tree at 11 meters, not 20.

Narrator: Something's not right.

The navigator is calling out 65 feet,

but the plane is only 36 feet from the ground.

Russian Investigator: They didn't know their altitude.

Narrator: The recording leaves investigators

with two important questions:

Why did the crew ignore the alarms,

and why were they closer to the ground than they thought?

The team pores over the flight data,

checking for signs of an altimeter malfunction.

Russian Investigator: Lieutenant.

Narrator: It could explain the crash.

Russian Investigator: What happens here?

Narrator: But instead of a malfunction,

they find that the altimeter reading makes a sudden jump.

A barometric altimeter

shows the plane's height above sea level

by measuring atmospheric pressure:

Air pressure goes up as the plane goes down.

When approaching an airport,

pilots usually calibrate the altimeter

to account for the airport's height above sea level.

But that's not what this crew did.

Russian Investigator: Someone reset the altimeter.

Jedynak: One of the crew members switched the captain's altimeter

to a pressure which changed the altitude reference.

The plane seemed a little bit higher than it was in reality.

Narrator: The numbers show

that the instrument was reset to its default setting--

a move that resulted in an altimeter reading

much higher than the plane's actual height above the ground.

Polish Investigator: Why would a pilot do that?

Narrator: Polish investigators take their questions to pilots

from the same special regiment that flew the president.

Polish Investigator: What do you think they were doing?

Narrator: They learn that military pilots

sometimes use the barometric altimeter

to solve an annoying problem.

The altimeter is connected

to the terrain altitude warning system, or taws.

It alerts pilots if they're getting too close to the ground.

The system is pre-programmed

with the location of most major airports

and will not sound an alarm

when the pilots are coming in to land.

But that only works if the airport is in the database.

Many, including Smolensk, are not.

Lasek: The Smolensk airport, which is a military airport,

was not included in the taws system.

Narrator: The alarm goes off so frequently

at military airports

that some pilots have developed a dangerous habit

of disregarding the sound.

Protasiuk: You can't see a thing.

Lasek: We analyzed many flights.

And it turns out that they were in the habit

of ignoring these alarms.

Narrator: And that's not all.

Polish Investigator: You're telling me

you actually change the altimeter to the wrong setting?

Narrator: They've also come up with ways

to silence the nuisance alarms.

One way is to simply reset the altimeter.

That fools the system

into thinking the plane is flying at a higher altitude.

Controller: Turn on your landing lights.

Protasiuk: Lights on.

Narrator: It's a temporary fix.

As the crew of the presidential jet continues to descend,

the alarm sounds again just 20 seconds later.

Polish Investigator: Start playback.

Narrator: It seems incredible that such an elite crew

flying such high-ranking passengers

would commit a breach of procedures.

Navigator: 100 meters.

Narrator: Even if they did,

it doesn't explain why the navigator

was calling out the wrong altitude during the descent.

Navigator: 90 meters.

Polish Investigator: Stop playback.

He was using his radio altimeter.

Narrator: Most large jets

are equipped with two types of altimeter.

Navigator: 40.

Narrator: Since the barometric altimeter has been reset,

the navigator could only have been using the second one.

Navigator: 20!

Narrator: His radio altimeter.

It uses radio waves

to measure the distance between the plane and the ground below.

But the terrain near Smolensk airbase is uneven.

Planes have to fly over a valley to reach it.

Polish Investigator: Look what happens here.

Narrator: When the radio altimeter read 300 feet,

the air force jet was not 300 feet above the airport.

It was 300 feet from the bottom of the valley.

In the dense fog, the pilots couldn't see the ground.

Once they cleared the valley,

they were just above the treetops.

The radio altimeter was giving them misleading information.

Lasek: Using the radio altimeter at this early stage of approach

is a serious mistake.

Narrator: It doomed everyone on board.

Investigators have uncovered

some of the key factors in the crash.

But there is another question to consider.

Polish Investigator: Why would he even try an approach

in such foggy weather?

Controller: Temperature plus two.

Pressure 7.45.

We do not have landing conditions.

Narrator: The pilots were warned

that conditions were not suitable for landing,

yet they persisted,

and descended towards Smolensk airport.

Lasek: After getting the information

about the fog and visibility,

the decision to fly to the alternate airport

should have been made immediately.

Narrator: A closer look at captain Protasiuk's history

may help explain that decision.

This was not the first time he'd flown

with the President of Poland's.

Lasek: Everyone in Poland's knew what happened a few years ago,

when the captain served as the co-pilot

during the Azerbaijan flight.

Narrator: In august of 2008,

the president wanted to fly into a war zone.

Protasiuk was the first officer on the flight.

Protasiuk: I'll inform ATC of your decision.

Negative. We will not be landing in Tbilisi.

Narrator: The captain refused to fly to an unsafe airport.

Lasek: His captain was ordered to land in Georgia,

but he did not follow this order.

Narrator: The captain of that flight

paid a high price for being cautious.

Gebert: This seriously affected the pilot's career.

Narrator: He was never chosen to fly for the president again.

Gebert: There was no direct pressure from the president.

But we all know, and certainly the pilots remembered,

what happened when the pilot refused to land in Tbilisi.

Polish Investigator: He probably didn't want to lose his job.

Protasiuk: Mr. Director, the fog has rolled in.

We'll make an attempt, but it probably won't work.

Narrator: No one wants to disappoint a president.

Though Protasiuk knew landing was risky,

he may have wanted to show his passengers

that he was willing to try.

Lasek: To be clear,

this person did not give any instructions,

but just his presence in the cockpit

interrupted the work flow,

the decision making and communication among the crew.

Controller: Polish air force 101,

we have fog.

Visibility is 400 meters.

Protasiuk: Understood.

Polish air force 101.

Narrator: Having to communicate with the tower in Russian

only made things more stressful.

Narrator: All the pressure may have led the captain

to make a fatal mistake.

Protasiuk: Continuing our approach.

If we're unsuccessful, we'll go around on autopilot.

Narrator: He plans to engage the autopilot's "go around" function

to climb away from the airport if he doesn't like what he sees.

Pushing the "go around" button

should quickly increase power to the engines,

enabling the plane to climb.

Narrator: But that can't work at this airport.

Lasek: The key error

was the assumption that it would be possible to climb

in autopilot mode.

Narrator: For the "go around" function to work,

the autopilot must work with something

called an instrument landing system, or ILS,

at the airport.

But Smolensk airbase no longer has one.

Computer alarm: Terrain, terrain. Pull up.

Navigator: 100 meters.

Computer alarm: Pull up. Terrain, terrain, pull up.

Protasiuk: We are leaving for a go-around.

Narrator: Protasiuk waited five seconds

for the plane to climb out on its own

before realizing he'd made an error.

Navigator: 90 meters.

Narrator: By the time he realizes his mistake,

it's too late.

There's no dispute--

the crew mishandled the approach.

But Polish investigators

don't think they are the only ones at fault.

Controller: Approaching outer marker.

On course.

Narrator: The air traffic controllers

were responsible for guiding the plane to a safe landing.

They knew visibility was extremely poor,

so why did they go along with Protasiuk's plan

to make a trial descent?

Controller: Polish 101 acknowledge.

Polish air force, we have fog.

Visibility is 400 meters.

Narrator: Polish investigators

need to know more about how Russian air traffic control

may have contributed to the tragedy.

Miller: There's no doubt that the air traffic controller

has a vital role,

especially when the clouds and fog are so bad

that you can't see the ground.

Michalak: Temperature and pressure, please.

Controller: Temperature is plus two.

Pressure is 7-4-5.

We do not have landing conditions.

Narrator: The investigators are surprised to discover

that even though the air base knew

it would be handling a very important flight that day...

Controller: Are you at 500 meters?

Narrator: ...the controllers seem unprepared to receive it.

Interviews with the Russian air traffic controllers

reveal that they had difficulty tracking the plane

on its descent.

Controller: We asked him to report his altitude.

Lasek: The Smolensk airport

is a very poorly equipped airport.

Controller: Polish air force,

are you at 500 meters?

Protasiuk: We are at 500 meters.

Narrator: The controllers had to rely on the captain

to report his altitude.

Polish investigators speculate that the equipment in Smolensk

wasn't providing a clear image of the plane's location.

The controller could not be sure if the plane was on course.

Controller: Approaching outer marker.

On course.

Miller: The controller confirmed

that the plane was on the flight path.

The moment it went below the flight path,

the risk of disaster rose dramatically.

Narrator: The controller confirmed

the plane was on the correct approach path

when, in fact, it was dangerously low.

Lasek: There's no doubt that the airport was not ready.

Narrator: The thickening fog

only increased the level of tension and confusion

in the control tower.

Controller: I just don't think we should bring him in.

It makes no sense right now.

Narrator: Before the president's plane reached the airport,

the controllers knew it would be almost impossible to land.

But they didn't have the authority

to turn the jet away.

Controller: We have to find an alternate for the poles.

We just don't have the weather.

Polish Investigator: They didn't want the plane to land.

Lasek: They tried to convince their superiors

that this airplane should be redirected to another airport

before they even started the landing procedure.

Stepchenkov: The decision whether or not

the President of Poland's should fly to Russia's

and where he should land is not made in Smolensk.

It is not made by the head of flight operations

or by the air traffic controllers.

But the fact is that the conditions

did not permit any kind of plane to land,

especially a plane full of VIPs.

Narrator: The controller was waiting for captain Protasiuk

to make the decision not to land.

Controller: We do not have landing conditions.

Protasiuk: Continuing our approach.

If we're unsuccessful, we'll go around on autopilot.

Controller: It's his call.

Let them continue on their own.

Lasek: I think that the same indirect pressure

that was experienced by the captain

of the TU-154 aircraft

was shared by the ATC controllers

because of the nature of this flight.

Stepchenkov: It all happened because of outside forces.

The crew and the group of flight operators,

they became hostages of the situation.

Narrator: Although both reports

criticize the actions of the pilots,

the Polish report goes further,

criticizing the Smolensk airport for its poor performance.

Controller: Approaching outer marker.

On course.

Miller: The fact they confirmed that the flight path was correct

when it wasn't

may have been because their equipment was faulty.

Gebert: The Russians were much more evasive

than the poles.

Poles frankly took on their responsibility

the way the Russians did not take up theirs.

Narrator: In the wake of the disaster,

the special regiment assigned to transport Polish officials

is disbanded.

In July 2011,

15 months after the crash,

Poland's interior minister Jerzy Miller

presents his findings to the world.

The Russians dispute his report's conclusions

about Smolensk air traffic control.

Despite two reports to the contrary,

deep suspicions persist,

including the belief that the president was assassinated.

Gebert: You have people

who are desperately trying to understand what happened

and they're given information

they're not qualified to assess.

I mean, I'm not qualified to assess information

of the Russian or the Polish commission

or of the counter experts.

I'm not an expert.

So finally I have to decide whose experts do I trust?

Narrator: In the end,

two historic adversaries managed to put aside their differences

and work together for a common goal.

Miller: The goal is simple.

Every accident must teach us a lesson...

How to train the crew

to make safety their highest priority

when making decisions.

Unfortunately, learning that lesson

has come at a very high cost.