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 U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued an airworthiness directive (AD) calling for either the removal or inspection of the Honeywell fixed emergency locator transmitter (ELT) in Boeing 787s. The AD stems from the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2013-07-12/ethiopian-787-catches-fire-heathrow">July 12 fire aboard an Ethiopian Airlines 787 </a>parked at London Heathrow Airport and follows a <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2013-07-18/uk-authorities-issue-recommendations-787-elt">separate recommendation from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)</a> that operators of Boeing 787s disable the systems.


The directive, which covers the 68 Boeing 787-8s now in service, noted that continued investigation into the event could result in further rulemaking and expand to other ELTs on various other aircraft.


The AAIB found that most of the fire damage to the Ethiopian 787 occurred at or near the location of the system and its associated wiring, mounted internally on the structure near the skin of the rear fuselage section. The AAIB further noted that no other systems in the area contain enough stored energy to start a fire.


Detailed examination of the ELT has shown some indications of “disruption” of the battery cells, said the bulletin. However, the AAIB hasn’t concluded whether the damage resulted from a release of energy within the batteries or and external mechanism such as an electrical short.


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U.S. Authorities Issue Directive on 787 ELTs

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