As a small aircraft pilot, aviation enthusiast and former mechanic, I ask the question, "Who is maintaining the aging fleet of aircraft given the current financial status of the airlines"? More importantly, "How are they maintaining the aircraft and at what cost"? Is it really the fault of the US government for deregulating the airline industry? Airlines owned and operated by foreign goverments don't seem to have as many incidents. I realize the US does more take-offs and landings than most foreign airlines but, Quantas, Lufthansa, JAS, and others have near perfect safety records. Any thoughts on this topic?

I don't know about the other two, but Qantas has a good record because it aims to maintain its title as "Safest Airline in the world". Perhaps other airlines have other priorities high up on their list. That, plus when you consider the vast sums of money required to keep aircraft "safe" - and I'm pretty sure that there have been more than afew airlines that went bankrupt in the process of doing so (well, it contributed to bankruptcy) you realise that its not necessarily high on the list of some airlines.