36th Special Aviation Regiment

36 Specjalny Pułk Lotnictwa Transportowego

36 SPLT Logo
Active 1945–2011
Country  Poland
Allegiance Polish Air Force
Type Special Aviation Regiment
Role VIP Transport, Transport
Part of Regiment
Base: 1 Baza Lotnicza (1st Air Base) Warszawa district Okęcie
Commanders
Squadron Leader Col. pilot (płk pil.) Mirosław Jemielniak
Aircraft flown
Utility helicopter Bell 412, PZL W-3 Sokół, Mil Mi-8
Transport Tu-154, Yak-40, PZL M28
VIP airliner Tupolev Tu-154M Lux at the airport in Zagreb

The 36 Specjalny Pułk Lotnictwa Transportowego 36 SPLT (English: 36th Special Regiment of Aviation Transport) was a special aviation regiment of the Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, established in 1945. All of its aircraft were for national public use, the most important being transport of Polish politicians and MON highest officials & forces commanders. It was headquartered at the 1st Air Base at Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport (formerly Okęcie). Between 1947 and 1974 it operated as Special Air Regiment, earlier as Government Transport Squadron. It was shut down in 2011 after the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash accident report found serious deficiencies in its organization and training, and its aircraft retired.

Accidents

On 4 August 2011, the regiment was disbanded by the Polish Minister of National Defence as a direct consequence of the 2010 crash. The regiment officially ceased to exist on 31 December 2011; however the 1st Air Transport Base continues to transport government VIPs by helicopter. Since then all Polish government officials have been using civil aircraft owned by LOT Polish Airlines, mainly two Embraer 175 operated exclusively for government.

Equipment in 2011

Previously operated transport aircraft including Lisunov Li-2, Ilyushin Il-14, Antonov An-24 and Tupolev Tu-134.

Model Origin Picture In Service
Tupolev Tu-154M Lux  Soviet Union 1
Yakovlev Yak-40  Soviet Union 4
PZL M28  Poland 3
PZL W-3 Sokół  Poland 5
Bell 412  United States 1
Mi-8  Soviet Union 7

References