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Polish report blames army for plane crash

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The Polish military has disbanded the regiment blamed for last year's plane crash in Russia that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others.

The decision followed an investigation that determined the pilots had not received adequate training and had been given documents that showed their qualifications to be greater than they really were, the Warsaw Business Journal reported. The 36th Army regiment was responsible for preparing for the flight.

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Kaczynski, his wife and other Polish leaders were flying to a commemoration of the Katyn Forest massacre when the Soviet secret police killed 22,000 Polish military officers, police officers and intellectuals captured during the invasion of Poland. The victims of the crash near Smolensk in April 2010 included the chief of the general staff, other high-ranking military officers, political and religious leaders, and relatives of those killed in the Katyn massacre.

Bogdan Klich resigned as defense minister last Friday after the report was released, and 13 military officers, including three generals, have been sacked.

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