Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

The pilots of the UPS Boeing 747-400 cargo airplane that crashed on September 3 reported smoke in the cockpit as they tried to return to Dubai International Airport, according to a preliminary report issued by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Sunday.

The airplane had departed Dubai International Airport at 6:53 p.m. local time for Cologne, Germany. At 7:15 p.m., UAE ATC Center received information from Bahrain that the crew could not maintain altitude and had turned around to attempt an emergency landing in Dubai. &nbsp;

ATC issued clearance as the aircraft approached some 22 nm from the airport. It passed over the airfield “very high,” according to the report, and made a right turn. The aircraft then tracked southwest and rapidly lost altitude. At approximately 7:42 p.m. local time, ATC lost radar contact. The 747 crashed in an unpopulated area between Emirates Road and Al Ain Highway 50 minutes after departure. Both pilots died in the crash. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The GCAA immediately dispatched an investigation team, which recovered the cockpit voice recorder some six hours after the accident. Investigators retrieved the flight data recorder earlier today.

A team from the NTSB arrived in the UAE on September 5 to assist with the investigation.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. accredited representative. His team includes NTSB specialists in the areas of human performance, fire, operations and systems. The team also includes technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, UPS, GE and Independent Pilots Association.

Smoke Filled Cockpit as UPS Pilots Attempted Return to Dubai 

The pilots of the UPS Boeing 747-400 cargo airplane that crashed on September 3 reported smoke in the cockpit as they tried to return to Dubai Internationa

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