A large number of Germany's political elite could be we wiped out in a single plane accident, legislators here have warned in light of the plane crash last Saturday that took the lives of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many other high-ranking government figures and their family members.

This is because no regulations are currently in place that prevent large numbers of senior officials from the federal or state governments from travelling on the same plane.

"It doesn't appear to be very wise to let many of the country's leaders get on the same flight," the opposition Greens' transportation policy spokesman, Winfried Hermann told Deutsche Welle. "They could become the target of a terrorist attack."

Planes in use a potential security risk

Hermann added that many of the planes the government use were taken over from the former East Germany following the reunication of Germany in 1990. He said these planes didn't meet the highest security standards and that there have been technical problems on many occasions in the past.

Among the German leaders who have experienced an emergency landing have been Chancellor Angela Merkel, her former foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as ex-cabinet ministers Theo Waigel and Joschka Fischer.

Grilled by the media in Berlin on Tuesday, government spokesman Christoph Steegmans had to admit that there were no rules as to how many state and government representatives were allowed or were not allowed to travel together on the same flight. He only spoke of "unwritten laws dictated by common sense".

Lucky so far

In the past, though, common sense hasn't prevailed on a number of occasions. In February of this year, Angela Merkel and her vice-chancellor and foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, plus 10 out of the remaining 14 cabinet ministers took the same Paris-bound plane to attend bilateral government consultations between France and Germany.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry, Andreas Peschke, had a hard time justifying such flights.

"They're of some practical value in so far as the fine-tuning for the talks and negotiations ahead usually only gets under way on board," Peschke elaborated.

Free Democrat transportation policy spokesman Patrick Doering said such risks could and would have to be excluded in the future.

No incidents are known in which high-ranking German officials forced a pilot to land despite adverse weather conditions. This is not to say that there haven't been any attempts to influence the pilot's decision.

Former German President Richard von Weizsaecker is reported to have once demanded that a pilot land in Hamburg despite foggy conditions. But the crew captain reminded the president that throughout the flight he was the boss. The plane eventually touched down safely in Bremen.

Author: Hardy Graupner
Editor: Chuck Penfold