http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8612825.stm

- Jesus, sounds like half the government died in that crash!

That is somewhat surreal, to lose a sizable chunk of your leadership like that. I can't imagine what its like in Poland today.

And the irony of it is also terrible.
The president’s death on Russian soil is bound to open old wounds in the relationship between Russia and Poland.

He had been due in western Russia to commemorate the anniversary of the murder of thousands of Polish officers by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II.

The ceremonies were to be held at a site in the Katyn forest close to Smolensk, where 70 years ago members of the Soviet secret police executed more than 20,000 Polish officers captured after the Soviet Army invaded Poland in 1939.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/europe/11poland.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre

That the plane crashed in heavy fog worries me less than if it were a typical "oh, this is one of those crappy soviet planes and they have shitty safety records" crash as I'm quite reminded of how the Rwandan civil war started by a shoot-down of an airplane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Habyarimana_and_Ntaryamira) loaded with the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi and several other leaders of Burundi. 800,000 people died from events leading from that assassination. Tensions between Russia and Poland have never been very good. Just look at how the Soviets denied the Katyn massacre for all these years, and for this to happen as the Poles went to a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of that massacre makes it seem too wrong to have just been coincidence. Conspiracy theories will abound for years from this.

Honestly, how could they have carried so many members of their government on the same plane going to the same destination? That is a huge security and logistics concern.

Honestly, how could they have carried so many members of their government on the same plane going to the same destination? That is a huge security and logistics concern.

The US does the exact same thing every single day the President leaves town, and I have to imagine the same is true for every other nation on the planet (that can afford a plane, at least). There were more non-government and ex-government dignitaries than usual given the event, but the actual number of senior Polish political figures (6) isn't that unusual.

Just because the US does it doesn't make it more smart. I know there are usually two Air Force Ones in place when the President flies, anyway. But there was clearly something wrong with the picture. Something doesn't seem right.

but the actual number of senior Polish political figures (6) isn't that unusual. Other than the President, who I believe was running for re-election, there were also 2 members of their parliament who were running for President (the regular elections were scheduled to be in October). The list of politicians on that plane was 87, not 6.

The airplane was 20 years old. Many Poles wanted it replaced with something newer, but their government didn't have the money to do replace it (the situation of wanting to replace it and lacking $ to do so reminds me of the interstate bridge that collapsed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge) during rush hour). There had been a major overhaul of this aircraft in December.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8612915.stm
Commentators in Poland have stressed the irony that so many senior figures were killed making a visit to commemorate victims of a massacre which targeted the elite of Poland's officer corps.

"This is so very much like Katyn, where our head was cut off," said former President Lech Walesa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8615872.stm

Actually when the President flies one of the AF1 planes he carries a small contingent of dignitaries. Nothing near what the Polish president had with him.

We don't risk shutting down our govt with one aircraft...ever.

It wasn't 87 politicians, it was 6 high level politicians and some lower level members of the government, some bodyguards, some members of the Polish church, staff, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_casualties_of_the_2010_Polish_Air_Force_Tu-154_crash

I admit my post was misleading, and I certainly am not trivializing the crash because it was horrible and probably the most unfortunate time for it to happen, but its certainly not unusual for our Air Force One to have our First Family, the Vice President, quite a few members of the Cabinet, and numerous Senators, Congressmen, and so forth.

The other flight Fandros is incorrect about, that's the flight they put me on when I took it back when we were following Bush for some military video - they don't put anyone nearly as important on the chase plane OR the advance plane. We put every high level member of our government except for 1 person in for the State of the Union, and we have very clear plan in our Constitution should something horrible happen. I'm sure they don't stack every senior official we have into the plane, but it acts as our White House in the air and similarly its normally packed. Watch next time Obama heads somewhere for a big ceremony or event.

Kelraz, you are out of the base line with your assumptions.

Just stop...

I'm pretty sure the President and VP never step on the same Air Force 1 at the same time.

Your post was quite misleading indeed.

Like Russia, the Prime Minister actually runs everything. The President is more of a figurehead. Some power, but Poland will still have an intact government.

I distinctly remember a photo op on air force one with Obama and Biden sitting together.

I deleted my post because I wanted to know for sure. It hasn't happened in a long time that both the VP and President flew together, perhaps not since Carter, but honestly they also rarely go to the same places. However, the various secretaries and so forth plus senators and all fly or ride with our President regularly.

I just finished watching the movie Katyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy%C5%84_(film)), which was about the original massacre. Tragic, sad, and well worth watching. If your library has a copy, check it out and watch it.