Polish president, plus their entire top military brass, killed in plane crash.

[Stoga]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe...ex.html?hpt=T1

""The entire top military brass, including the chief of defense and all the services, were on the plane," said Tomas Valasek, of the Center for European Reform.
"If that is true, then you're looking at a situation, in effect, of the decapitation of the military services.""

Now I know this isn't American politics, but I can't imagine something like that happening over here and what the repercussions would be. I find it incredible that any nation would have taken such a risk like this with it's leadership.
Basically having all your "eggs" in one basket, something's not right here, though I doubt we'll ever know all of it.

[nhdriver]

We at least put our leaders in quality aircraft not some crappy old Russian airliner w. the wings falling off

[Madman Stephan]

The conspiracies started minutes after this crash. Their president was pro-US, and the accident happened on Russian soil.... Yeah, that's enough, right there, to make you wonder.

Their president and the military top brass all on the same plane, and that plane crashes. Things that make you go "Hmmmmm".

[John Kunkel]

I can hear many Americans saying to themselves (or maybe out loud) "Why didn't it happen here".

[dodger1]

Originally Posted by nhdriver

We at least put our leaders in quality aircraft not some crappy old Russian airliner w. the wings falling off

Well, that "crappy old Russian airliner" is actually a pretty tough airplane. Russians don't build weak airframes - they have in fact probably the strongest transport airframes going, since they need to operate under very crappy conditions. The TU 154M involved here is particularly over-built strength-wise. (think 727 on steroids) and it is beginning to look as if it was a crew error, not a structural one. Don't forget, the Shuttle is down to 3 flights left, and NASA will be using the "steam-powered" Russian Soyuz to get crew up and back to the Space Station.

[pcrmike]

John, I am a conservative and I do not want to see our prez killed in any way. I want to handle it at the voting booth.

As to teh airframes, agreed, but the engines are not nearly the quallity of the American GE and British engines.

[dodger1]

Originally Posted by pcrmike

As to teh airframes, agreed, but the engines are not nearly the quallity of the American GE and British engines.

Agreed - engines, avionics, definitely cruder than US/Brit/French. But the airframes are stout.

[KingCordoba]

Still, regardless of cause, that's a significant portion of real estate in a significant location in the world to have it's future up in the air like that.

So to speak. Pardon the pun..............