All flags at the Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast were lowered to half-mast to pay a tribute to 20 people who died in a crash of a military aircraft yesterday at about 7 p.m. near Mirosławiec, Poland. It is one of the most tragic accidents in the Polish Air Force.
CASA C-295M military transport plane crashed while approaching to land being only about 800 metres from the Mirosławiec Airfield. The aircraft fell down to the forest from about 150-200 metres and caught fire. 4 crewmembers and 16 passengers died.
The passengers were military officers who had been attending a flight safety conference in Warsaw. The flight was scheduled from Warsaw, through Powidz, Poznań-Krzesiny, Mirosławiec, Świdwin and back to Kraków. Among them there were Brigadier General Pilot Andrzej Andrzejewski, Commander of the 1st Tactical Air Brigade in Świdwin and Colonel Pilot Jerzy Piłat, Commander of 12th Air Base in Mirosławiec. The crew of the aircraft served at the 13th Kraków-Balice Transportation Squadron.
The investigation to explain the cause of the crash is still ongoing.
The C-295M is a medium-range, twin-turboprop aircraft developed by the Madrid-based manufacturer, Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (CASA). It can transport up to 78 passengers. Polish Air Force has got 10 such aircrafts, which are used for example for contingent transportation. Last year contracts were signed for another two machines.
Commander Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Zdzisław Goral on behalf of all the Corps members expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
