[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 57 (Monday, May 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S2584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 14--CALLING FOR AN INDEPENDENT 
  INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF THE APRIL 10, 2010, PLANE CRASH THAT 
   KILLED PRESIDENT OF POLAND LECH KACZYNSKI AND 95 OTHER INDIVIDUALS

  Mr. BURR submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 14

       Whereas, on April 10, 2010, an airplane carrying President 
     of Poland Lech Kaczynski crashed near Smolensk, Russia, 
     killing everyone onboard;
       Whereas the individuals onboard the airplane included 
     President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynski, the 
     chief of the Polish General Staff, senior Polish military 
     officers, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland, 12 members 
     of the Parliament of Poland, the president of the National 
     Bank of Poland, senior members of the Polish clergy, and 
     relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre;
       Whereas President Lech Kaczynski and passengers were 
     traveling to attend a ceremony commemorating the 70th 
     anniversary of the Katyn Massacre to honor the 22,000 Polish 
     officers killed at Katyn by the Soviet Secret Police in 1940 
     when the plane crashed just six miles from Katyn;
       Whereas, on April 10, 2010, President of Russia Dmitry 
     Medvedev ordered the establishment of a State Commission 
     headed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to 
     investigate the circumstances of the disaster;
       Whereas Prime Minister Vladimir Putin delegated supervision 
     to Tatyana Anodina, Chairwoman of the Interstate Aviation 
     Committee in Russia, to investigate the circumstances of the 
     crash;
       Whereas Alexei Morozov was designated as head of the 
     Interstate Aviation Committee's technical commission;
       Whereas Edmund Klich, the head of the State Commission for 
     Aircraft Accident Investigations in Poland, was put in charge 
     of the Polish investigative committee;
       Whereas, on May 19, 2010, the Russian Interstate Aviation 
     Committee released preliminary reports that the plane did not 
     suffer from any mechanical failures and ruled out a terrorist 
     attack, explosion, or fire;
       Whereas Russian investigators in preliminary reports stated 
     that the crash was the fault of the Polish pilots who did not 
     listen to air traffic controllers;
       Whereas Polish investigators released preliminary reports 
     concluding that the crash was the fault of the air traffic 
     controllers who gave delayed commands to the pilots;
       Whereas only the transcripts of flight recorders have been 
     given to Polish investigators;
       Whereas the black boxes have not been handed over to Polish 
     investigators;
       Whereas, on January 12, 2011, the Russian Interstate 
     Aviation Committee released its final report concluding that 
     pilot error was the cause of the crash and dignitaries on the 
     plane pressured the pilots to land;
       Whereas the Interstate Aviation Committee's final report 
     did not include any information regarding actions of Russian 
     air traffic controllers communicating with the plane;
       Whereas requests for certain additional information by 
     Polish investigators have been denied;
       Whereas, on January 12, 2011, Tatyana Anodina, Chairwoman 
     of the Interstate Aviation Committee, stated that Russia is 
     prepared to provide results of its final report to an 
     international investigation or auditors if necessary;
       Whereas, on January 13, 2011, Prime Minister Donald Tusk of 
     Poland called for intervention by international institutions 
     in the event authorities from Poland and Russia cannot 
     produce a report that satisfies both sides;
       Whereas, according to the Convention on International Civil 
     Aviation, signed at Chicago December 7, 1944 (also known as 
     the ``Chicago Convention''), if one country does not agree 
     with an aviation disaster report drafted by another country, 
     they may meet to reach consensus on the matter; and
       Whereas over 300,000 Poles have signed a petition calling 
     for an international investigation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress calls for an independent 
     international investigation of the April 10, 2010, plane 
     crash near Smolensk, Russia.

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