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. Supreme Court last Monday overturned a lower court decision to award $1.2 million to former Air Wisconsin pilot William Hoeper for defamation, ruling that the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) ensures that airlines enjoy immunity from liability in reporting security concerns about an individual to the Transportation Security Administration as long as they do not knowingly disclose false, inaccurate or misleading information.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;


The case stems from a 2004 incident during which Hoeper became agitated with a flight instructor, Mark Schuerman, for what Hoeper characterized as an effort to “railroad” him into performing poorly on a flight simulator. At the time a Bombardier CRJ pilot flying out of Denver, Hoeper needed to gain certification on the BAe 146 because Air Wisconsin stopped flying the CRJ from his home base. After Hoeper failed in his first three attempts to earn his BAe 146 ticket, Air Wisconsin agreed to give him a fourth and final chance. When he again failed to perform up to standards, he raised his voice, tossed his headset and used profanity before accusing the instructor of “railroading the situation.”


When Hoeper announced he wanted to call the Air Line Pilots Association legal department, Schuerman ended the session so Hoeper could do so, according to court documents.&nbsp; Schuerman then reported Hoeper’s behavior to Patrick Doyle, the Wisconsin-based manager of the BAe 146 fleet. Doyle booked Hoeper from the training center in Virginia on a United Airlines flight back to Denver, then met with Air Wisconsin managers at the airline’s headquarters in Appleton, Wis., the next day, at which time they decided to fire Hoeper.


Concerned that Hoeper had access to a gun as a federal flight deck officer (FFDO), Air Wisconsin vice president of flight operations Kevin LaWare decided that someone should call the TSA. Doyle volunteered and voiced to the TSA the airline’s concern “about [Hoeper’s] mental stability and the whereabouts of his firearm.” He also characterized Hoeper as “an unstable pilot in [the] FFDO program” who the airline had just fired.


Hoeper sued the airline in Colorado state court on several claims including defamation and won. The Colorado Court of Appeals then affirmed the judgment, determining that Air Wisconsin made the statements about Hoeper “with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.”


The U.S. Supreme Court justices voted six to three to overturn the decision. In delivering the majority opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that the Colorado state courts did not determine that Air Wisconsin’s disclosure was materially false, nor would any falsehood in the disclosure have affected a reasonable security officer’s assessment of the supposed threat.


“In directing the TSA to ‘receive, assess, and distribute intelligence information related to transportation security,’ Congress wanted to ensure that air carriers and their employees would not hesitate to provide the TSA with the information it needed,” Sotomayor wrote. “It would defeat this purpose to deny immunity for substantially true reports, on the theory that the person making the report had not yet gathered enough information to be certain of its truth.”


Sotomayor concluded that Congress incorporated a malice standard into ATSA to give carriers “breathing space” to report potential threats to security officials without fear of civil liability “for a few inaptly chosen words.


“To hold Air Wisconsin liable for minor misstatements or loose wording would undermine that purpose and disregard the statutory text,” she concluded.


In a statement released Monday, the Regional Airline Association applauded the decision. “The Regional Airline Association and our airline members are gratified the U.S. Supreme Court strongly affirmed that airlines and their employees must report security threats without fear of potential legal ramifications,” it said. “The ability for airline professionals to recognize potential threats and report them to the appropriate authorities is fundamental to the culture of safety and security we have developed over the years, and we are relieved to see these protections upheld.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;


&nbsp;

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Pilot’s Defamation Award on Security Grounds 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Officials from the UK, Japan, and Australia are being hosted at the company's California HQ this week

Joby Discusses eVTOL Rules with International Aviation Safety Agencies

Curt Epstein

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

More In Regulations and Government

Joby Discusses eVTOL Rules with International Aviation Safety Agencies

Officials from the UK, Japan, and Australia are being hosted at the company's California HQ this week

Rolland Vincent Associates Joins IBAC Partnership Group

Consultancy will work to support bizav growth

Charter Safety Group Adopts Document Management System

Air Charter Safety Foundation wants to encourage members to digitize documents

FAA Greenlights eVTOL Regs as NBAA-BACE Opens

FAA chief Michael Whitaker: “It’s here today. It is now a final rule”

AI Revolutionizing Aviation with Smarter, Safer Flights

Todd Giles of Honeywell Aerospace moderated a panel discussion on AI

AIN Editor Kerry Lynch Wins 2024 NBAA Gold Wing Award

Annual award given at the NBAA-BACE show for the best business aviation story

NBAA 'Newsmakers Luncheon' Praises Bipartisanship On FAA

Sam Graves and Rick Larsen join NBAA roundtable

Revamped U.S. Notam Format Delayed At Least One Year

Agency gave no reason for the delay in aligning format with ICAO standards

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN