THE SHOCKING and tragic death of the President of Poland, his wife and a large official delegation in an air crash has prompted press speculation as to why Poland still used an ageing Soviet aircraft to carry national leaders, a Tupolev Tu-154. 
 
 
 
 As a question, it pales beside the enormity of the loss that Poland has suffered--made all the more painful because the delegation of Polish leaders were on their way to commemorate another of the country's greatest moments of loss, the Katyn massacre of 20,000 Polish reservist officers by Soviet secret police in 1940. 
 
 
 
 But if it helps clear up such speculation, your correspondent has part of an answer, after having discussed this very question with a senior Polish official, under happier circumstances. A few years ago, I was invited by the defence ministry to visit a NATO base then watch Polish troops training for a mission in Afghanistan. My small group of journalists were flown from Brussels to Poland and then around the country on one of the smaller planes in the Polish government VIP fleet, a Soviet-built Yak 40. There was no doubting the plane's age, though it appeared immaculately maintained and the Polish air force crew were exceedingly professional. 
 
 
 
 Nonetheless, given the strong attachment of today's Poland to modernity and the western world, I asked one of our hosts why the VIP fleet still used aircraft from the Soviet era. The answer was pragmatism. The old planes were noisy and were not fuel efficient, but they were serviceable and tough. 
 
 
 
 In the case of the Tu-154, it was dated, noisy and not that comfortable, but it had one great strength, I was told. A three-engined jet, it was significantly faster than the modern, two-engined airliners widely used by other governments for long-distance VIP transport. This difference in speed was such that when European leaders took off from New York, more or less en masse, to return from the United Nations General Assembly, it was noticeable that the Tupolev was always first across the Atlantic and back in European airspace. This speed played a role in keeping the plane in Polish government service. 
 
 
 
 This detail hardly matters now at a time of such national sorrow, but if it helps explain why a large, modern and technologically-advanced country like Poland was flying such an old plane, perhaps that is of some small assistance. ||||| Investigators seeking the cause of a plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and a delegation including dozens of high-level officials on Saturday are likely to focus on both the Tupolev 154 jetliner and the pilots' actions. 
 
 The Russian-made plane, which was 20 years old, had been overhauled in December at a Russian aviation facility and had flown relatively few hours. 
 
 The TU-154, which crashed outside Smolensk, Russia, was on its second attempt to land amid heavy fog, Russian officials said. Investigators will seek to understand why the crew tried bring the plane down in such unfavorable ...
– As Poland wrestles with the death of President Lech Kaczysnki and 96 others in today's plane crash, attention is turning to the pilots' actions and the Soviet-era plane involved: The pilots ignored orders not to try to land because of heavy fog, reports AP. The plane involved is a 20-year-old Soviet-era Tupelo 154 that had been overhauled in December. Wall Street Journal blogger Marcin Sobczyk notes the planes were nicknamed "flying coffins" in Poland. So why are Polish leaders using such old planes? An Economist blogger who flew in one notes that the Tu-154 "was dated, noisy and not that comfortable, but it had one great strength, I was told. A three-engined jet, it was significantly faster than the modern, two-engined airliners widely used by other governments for long-distance VIP transport. ... This speed played a role in keeping the plane in Polish government service."