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

An ATR 72-500 operated by Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways crashed on its second attempt at landing during a thunderstorm in Magong, Taiwan, killing 48 of the 58 passengers and crewmembers on board. The 70-seat turboprop, operating as Flight GE222, took off from the city of Kaohsiung on a scheduled flight to Magong. According to ATR, the accident happened around 7:30 p.m. local time. Reports out of Taiwan indicate that the airplane hit houses near the airport, but that no fatalities resulted on the ground.


ATR delivered the aircraft, MSN 642, to the airline from its production line in Toulouse in June 2000.


The Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan leads the investigation and serves as the official source of information on the crash. Meanwhile, ATR said it would advise the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et Analyses (BEA), the safety investigation authority representing the state of the aircraft manufacturer, as prescribed under international treaties. 
 
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TransAsia ATR Crashes in Taiwan, 48 Dead

The ATR 72-500 failed in its second attempt to land in stormy weather. 

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