The group was arriving from Warsaw to attend an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the massacre, which took place not far from Smolensk. The pilots were attempting to land at Smolensk North Airport — a former military airbase — in thick fog, with visibility reduced to about metres 1, ft. The aircraft descended far below the normal approach path until it struck trees, rolled, inverted and crashed into the ground, coming to rest in a wooded area a short distance from the runway.
Both the Russian and Polish official investigations found no technical faults with the aircraft, and concluded that the crew failed to conduct the approach in a safe manner in the given weather conditions. The Polish authorities found serious deficiencies in the organization and training of the Air Force unit involved, which was subsequently disbanded.
Several high-ranking members of the Polish military resigned following pressure from politicians and the media. The flight's purpose was taking many high-ranking Polish officials to ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre , a mass murder of Polish intellectuals, politicians, and military officers by the Soviets during World War II.
The site of the massacre is approximately 19 km 12 mi west of Smolensk. The area is fairly remote; Smolensk is the only city nearby and has the only two airports in the area: Smolensk North Airport , where the accident occurred, and Smolensk South Airport.
Smolensk North Airport is a former military airbase, presently in mixed military-civilian use. At the time of the crash, the airport was not equipped with an ICAO -compliant instrument landing system ILS , the standard system used in most developed countries.
