Montrealguy's statistics are interesting. It is a statistical fact, however, that you are infinitely safer travelling with a 'western' airline than one from outside that geographic (and cultural?) area. You can argue whether or not that is due to the presence of western (ie Boeing or Airbus) aircraft or Russian ones, and we would all acknowledge that the issue is more complex than that. Many operators of ex-Soviet aircraft are financially strapped to such an extent that regular maintainance and training that would be considered 'must-haves' in the west just go to the bottom of the shopping list in favour of survival. Cultural attitudes that discourage adherence to SOPs and the clear questioning of error in a flight deck colleague to save face are overwhelming difficulties that pervade much of non-western aviation practice. It is therefore very difficult to blame the massive safety gap between western and non-western operators on Russian aircraft alone. There can be no doubt, however, that such a gap exists. Denying that is merely part of the tragic process of denial in the face of overwhelming evidence which characterises these debates.