Over the weekend there was another accident involving the Russian built Tu-154 airliner. The latest accident occurred  on Jan 1 at the Sibrerian Airport of Surgut. The aircraft engine caught fire while taxing for takeoff. The fire spread to the fuselage. Most people were able to escape injury by exiting thru the emergency slides. However, sadly several passengers died. The Russian Tu-154 is an old airplane built back in the late 60's . It has been plaque with problems. There was another crash of the same airplane in Poland last year that killed the Polish President. Although it's rare to see this aircraft type in the United States, it's common to see it in Eastern Europe. Older airplanes can be flown safely for decades. It all depends on the professionalism & experience of that airlines maintenance department. Case in point, NorthWest Airlines currently merged with Delta Airlines has had the oldest fleet of aircraft in the U.S. Up into recently, NorthWest Airlines had DC-9, DC-10's that were about 40 years old.  But, NorthWest had a very discipline & reliable maintenance program. Despite these aircraft being so old, they never had any deadly airline accidents caused by maintenance in over 30 years. In fact, what few accidents they had were caused by pilot error. They had a solid industry reputation for knowing how to keep old airplanes flying safely that other airlines are currently modeling themselves after. So the bottom line is safety standards very from individual countries. Most of the countries in Europe have great safety standards. However, you still have to be careful with Eastern Europe Countries like Poland, Urkrane & Russia & do your homework before flying on their domestic carriers.