Poland's president dies in plane crash

[TommyC81]

After all, the airport they attempted landing at was the closest one to their destination. More often than not, people with power seem to think that the fact they do have power can change <insert whatever you want that is not possible to change> and/or make <insert whatever you wish want to happen> happen, against better judgement. I.e. the pilot saying they will have to divert but the president insisting that they HAVE TO LAND there because the meeting is on in 1 hour and they CAN'T BE LATE, diverting is NOT AN OPTION etc. etc. Of course, the captain shouldn't care about it but it may nonetheless affect his judgement.

I think this part of the wiki-information is a major contributing factor:

VIP passenger syndrome
Initial speculation was that the pilot tried to land repeatedly against the controller's advice because of pressure from the delegation, which was allegedly eager to attend the ceremony,[56] but later information made clear that only one landing approach was made.[18] According to the former commander of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment, Tomasz Pietrzak, the decision by the Russians to keep the airfield open, even though the weather conditions were too dangerous to receive planes safely, may have been a factor in the crash.[57]
In August 2008, a different pilot of Kaczyński's plane, Grzegorz Pietruczuk, was pressured by the president when he refused to land in Tbilisi during the South Ossetian war between Georgia and Russia.[58][59] During that incident, Pietruczuk was asked by the president's staff to change the flight plan and land in Tbilisi.[60] After consulting with the commander of his unit, Pietruczuk refused, justifying his decision by safety concerns. He was then visited in the cockpit by Kaczynski himself, who tried to convince him to change his mind. Kaczynski later told journalists that "the Polish officer should not be cowardly". Nevertheless, Pietruczuk held his ground and the plane landed in Azerbaijan as planned. A few weeks after this incident Pietruczuk was decorated by the defense minister for following correct procedures in this case and keeping the safety of his passengers utmost in his mind.[60] Pietruczuk continued to fly the president's plane after the incident, even after Kaczynski expressed unhappiness with his performance during the flight to Tbilisi.[61] Grzegorz Hołdanowicz, a leading Polish defence analyst, stated his belief that in Smolensk, the pilot Captain Arkadiusz Protasiuk would have been under pressure to land, despite advice from air traffic control to the contrary.[59]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Polish_Air_Force_TU-154_crash

[ICEcoldair881]

My fault, sorry!

wait.....YOU caused the accident that killed the Polish President and all those delegates?!?!?! YOU LITTLE BI.....

just kidding....but still, RIP to all of them and my sincerest condolences to all the polish people.