RIP: Lech Kaczynski (President of Poland)

[Billybob]

Dakota wrote:
That's what you get when you fly on a socialized airliner. And don't hold your breath for any discoveries. It took Russians only 50 years to fess up to Katyn massacre.

I'm not sure what this means, but I hope that it was intended to be a [bad] joke. As far as I know, Poland has a market-based economy, and very few heads-of-state of European and Western countries fly on commercial airliners. So, if the Polish officials were flying a "socialized airline" I suspect our presidents -- Democratic and Republican -- have been flying socialized airlines for decades as well.

This event strikes me as a horrible tragedy chock full of bad decisions. The irony is that it may very well turn out to be pilot or human error with this aging and decrepit aircraft bearing very little of the blame. As far as Russia's responsibility in the Katyn massacre, until shown otherwise, I have no idea what that horrid event has to do with responsibility for the current tragedy.

[Don Kiyoti]

It's worth noting that the two VC-25s which serve as Air Force 1 first flew in 1987 and entered service in 1990. 20 years is not particularly old for an airframe. It's all about hours and cycles, and maintenance. There are conflicting reports about the condition of Kaczynski's Tu-154 so I don't think we know if it was "decrepit" or not. But the notion that Russian-designed and -built aircraft are inherently unsafe is nonsense.

[Mac1337]

Why don't you book your next trip on Aeroflot?

[Thrift Store Scott]

cbelt3 wrote:
Wow. We take a lot for granted in the US. Air Force One, the secret service, keeping our President safe. And this gentleman, President of a 2nd/1st world industrial nation, member of the EU, was flying to Russia in a beat up old Tupolev that was held together with duct tape. (think DC-9)

Actually, design-wise a Tu-154 would be more comparable to a 727 than a DC-9 since it's a "trijet" (three-engined aircraft), although all three were introduced in the 1960s. However, unlike the 727 and DC-9, modernized versions of the Tu-154 were still in production as recently as 1998.
http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=376

Don Kiyoti wrote:
It seems like a case of "get-there-itis" either on the part of the pilot of the aircraft or the President himself.

Indeed.
From the linked article:
The Investigation Committee said the plane, a Tupolev-154, was trying to land in heavy fog. A Russian military official said that air traffic control in Smolensk had tried to divert the plane to another airport because of inclement weather.
"The air traffic control officer gave several orders to divert but the plane continued with its descent," said Alexander Aleshin, a top Russian air force official. "Unfortunately, this ended in tragedy."