NO ONE FLIES AEROFLOT:

Polish President, Others Killed in Plane Crash (GREGORY L. WHITE and MARCIN SOBCZYK, 4/10/10, WSJ)

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of others in a high-level delegation were killed Saturday when their plane crashed on landing outside the western Russian city of Smolensk, officials said.

Russian state television reported that the Tu-154 jet crashed about a kilometer short of the runway on its fourth attempt to land in heavy fog at the Smolensk-Severnyi military airport, shortly before 11 a.m. Moscow time.

What was he doing on a Third World flight?

MORE:
'This Is a Wound Which Will Be Very Difficult to Heal': Polish President, Senior Politicians Killed in Plane Crash (Der Spiegel, 4/10/10)

According to the Associated Press, the Aviation Safety Network has reported that there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154 jets, including six in the past five years. Russian flag carrier airline Aeroflot recently withdrew the aircraft from its fleet.

After surviving a helicopter crash in 2003, former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller said he predicted a disaster like this, according to the New York Times. "I once said that we will one day meet in a funeral procession, and that is when we will take the decision to replace the aircraft fleet."

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 10, 2010 7:04 AM