 He was listed on the flight manifest of the Tupolev Tu-154 of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński which crashed near Smolensk-North airport near Pechersk near Smolensk, Russia, on 10 April 2010, killing all aboard.In 2010, Szczygło was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.He had previously been awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2009 and the Ukrainian Order of Merit 2nd Class.