The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) decided not to purchase special radars, even though the military requested Polish airports be protected against drones - tvn24.pl has found out. Civic Coalition MPs commented on this negligence at a press conference in the Sejm on Tuesday (May 23). "This should be treated as a form of sabotage, as there's nothing more important than the safety of passengers and crews in Polish planes," said Dariusz Joński. "Any potential collision with a drone is a huge danger to passengers," stressed Maciej Lasek, former head of the State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation.
A month before Russia's attack on Ukraine, Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command asked Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) to create a drone traffic management system "due to security reasons" - according to a document seen by tvn24.pl journalist Grzegorz Łakomski.
According to his sources, a single-source procurement plan was abandoned at first, followed by a decision not to issue a call for tender. The least expensive set of radars was worth 3.6 million zlotys. In that same period, the agency's chairperson spent ten times as much on bonuses for her subordinates.
On May 13, tvn24.pl revealed that an unidentified drone the size of a small aircraft had passed approx. 30 metres away from a landing PLL LOT passenger plane. According to our sources, the two machines were less than 1 second from colliding.
Joński: an embarrassment to the PiS state
Civic Coalition MPs, Dariusz Joński and Maciej Lasek, commented on the issue at a press conference in the Sejm on Tuesday.
According to Joński, "this is an embarrassment to the PiS state". "We've heard that not a single airport has purchased an anti-drone system. We've heard that, according to the procedure, the pilots are duty bound to search the sky for objects other than planes, like balloons or drones. It's them who are supposed to have eyes like a hawk and probably binoculars as well," he said.
"We were mislead as members of parliament because we were informed an anti-drone system was being tested in Poland. According to the documents we possess, there is no doubt that shortly before Russia's attack on Ukraine Polish Armed Forces command had sent a request to PANSA the critical infrastructure be actually protected and anti-drone system for airports purchased. Initially, when the previous chairman was in charge, PANSA had launched a procedure aimed at purchasing at least five such radars for each airport," Joński explained.
He added that, on Feb.3, 2023, the new PANSA chairwoman had decided to back out of the anti-drone system purchase. "What does that mean? That means our airspace is like Swiss cheese: anything can fly in, at any time, and we don't even know what it was, while the pilots wonder if they will land at an airport."
According to Joński, investigators should look into this case. "This should be treated as a form of sabotage, as there's nothing more important than the safety of passengers and crews in Polish planes," he argued. "We are waiting for the ministry to prepare a change in regulations as soon as possible and announce purchase of a special anti-drone systems for all Polish airports," he added.
"How many more dramas and tragedies must take place to make someone in Poland understand that security is crucial?" - the MP asked. "Money is there, a decision is needed. People responsible for taking decisions are not taking them," Joński added.
Lasek: why was the purchase cancelled?
The former head of the State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation and current Civic Platform MP, Maciej Lasek, said that "unfortunately, we cannot say Polish airspace is safe". "If we are abandoning systems allowing to detect unauthorized entry of drones into Polish airspace, then we all must keep in mind what happened when a plane struck a flock of birds above New York: loss of power in two engines and water landing," he reminded.
The MP was referring to the events from January 15, 2009, when Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Shortly after takeoff, the plane struck a flock of Canada geese and lost power in both engines. Quickly determining he would be unable to reach either LaGuardia or Teterboro Airport, Sullenberger piloted the plane to an emergency water landing on the Hudson River. All 155 people on board survived and were rescued by nearby boats.
"Not everyone can be so lucky as Captain Sullenberger and water land on Hudson," Lasek said. "Therefore, any potential collision with a drone is a huge danger to passengers," he stressed.
Maciej Lasek also pointed out that airports "are responsible for airspace over their territory", while PANSA "is responsible for safety in the entire airspace" (of Poland - edit.).
"Our question is: why was the purchase of a radar system, that could have made Polish airspace safe, cancelled?" - Lasek added.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24