Merta was listed on the flight manifest of the Tupolev Tu-154 of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment , which was carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński , and crashed near Smolensk-North airport near Smolensk , Russia , on 10 April 2010 , killing all aboard . On April 16 , 2010 he was posthumously decorated with the Commander 's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta , and also posthumously with the Gloria Artis Gold Medal of the National Education Commission . On the same day the Parliament of the Province of Lower Silesia gave him the title of Honorary Citizen of Lower Silesia . He was buried in the cemetery at St. Sophie Barat in Warsaw
Tupolev Tu-154
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
Tomasz Merta