04-11-2010, 11:07 PM
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.