Polish Government Tu154 tragedy at Katyn Russia

[Henry Tenby]

This is a monumental tragedy.

This accident was caused by one human trait: the bravado of the Captain of the Polish Government Tu154.

All these people had their lives in the hands of the Captain, and he boldly failed in his duty as an aircraft Captain. He failed the number one rule of piloting an aircraft, which is "Safety First, Schedule Second".

The Captain was only concerned about avoiding delay in getting his passengers to their destination. That's why he attempted several aborted attempts to the airfield in dense fog, even when the Russian air traffic controllers repeatedly told him to divert to Minsk and wait out the fog.

The Captain's bravado cost all these people their lives. What a horrible tragedy.