Now, the 727 was a fine plane, of which thousands were ultimately made; but it had some dicey characteristics on landing, which early on caused accidents and near-accidents.
Boeing finally revised the landing procedure to keep it safely airborne until touchdown; mainly by flying it onto the deck hot. (Sounds like a carrier landing to me!)
Anyone who has actual experience flying a 727, feel free to comment.
Maybe the Tupolev has a similar problem that the pilots were not adequately trained for.
[[I wonder whether anyone ever called a Tu-154 stew a "Tupolev honey?"]]
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.
From what I understand a female Polish official who gave up her seat on the plane at the last moment said that she had flown “many times” on the plane, and with those pilots. Since the plane had been in use for so long, and there were so many on board of an important stature politically and militarily I don’t think they would leave the flight to inexperienced pilots, do you?
I’m still wondering why Poland would allow the plane to be fixed in Russia, and exactly what was worked on while it was there...