copied part of an article about the polish pilot and idiot boss.
But speculation was rife that the president's own entourage might have insisted the pilot continue the flight, despite orders from Russian air traffic control for the plane to land in Minsk or Moscow due to the bad weather conditions in Smolensk.
The high-profile delegation was on a tight schedule on Saturday to attend a memorial service for the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. Kaczynski was known for his assertiveness towards pilots who had flown him on official business in the past.
In a widely reported case in 2008, he flew to Tbilisi in his presidential plane during the war in Georgia. When his pilot refused to land in the Georgian capital, insisting it was too dangerous to do so, Kaczynski reportedly entered the cockpit and tried to change his mind. The pilot refused, and the party landed in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, and was forced to travel the remaining stretch to Georgia by car over arduous mountain roads. Attempts were subsequently made to sue the pilot for failing to obey orders, but the case was thrown out by prosecutors.
The former Polish president Lech Walesa said it was too early to cast blame, but also suggested the pilot may have come under pressure from the Polish president and his delegation to land, despite the severe fog blanketing the approach to the airport.
