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

Investigators from Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee along with experts from France and the United Arab Emirates began the process of retrieving information from the flight data recorder recovered from the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2016-03-19/flydubai-737-crashes-approach-rostov-don">FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 that crashed in southern Russia Saturday morning</a>, killing all 62 on board. Although both the CVR and FDR suffered damage in the crash, experts managed to repair a broken cable in the FDR, allowing them to study the memory module and retrieve its data, according to Russia’s official TASS news agency. Efforts to retrieve a recording from the more heavily damaged CVR continue.

 


The Boeing 737-800s crashed while attempting to land in high winds at the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. All 55 passengers and 7 crew died in the accident, which happened at 3:50 am local&nbsp;time, after the crew aborted an initial landing attempt and remained in a holding pattern for more than two hours.

 


Operating as Flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov, the airplane crashed 800 feet short of the runway, according to a statement by Russia’s accident investigation agency.

 


According to Flydubai, the passengers included 44 Russians, 8 Ukrainians, 2 Indians and one Uzbek. All but one member of the crew were Russian, according to a statement from the country’s emergency ministry.

 


The airport at Rostov reopened Monday morning and FlyDubai said it would resume its regular schedule to the destination on Tuesday.

 


Flydubai began operations in 2009 and its route network covers 90 destinations. Its fleet consists of 48 Boeing 737-800s and its order backlog calls for delivery of 11 more. It also signed a contract covering deliveries of 75 of Boeing’s new 737 Max 8 narrowbodies, plus options for 25&nbsp;more.

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Investigators Probe FDR from Destroyed FlyDubai 737

Efforts underway to retrieve information from badly damaged cockpit voice recorder

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Amy Wilder

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.

Pilot died of cardiac arrest during the flight

NTSB: Pax Safely Lands King Air after Pilot Collapsed

Vehicle also struck parked ground-support tractor; there were no injuries

Teen Driver Breaches Fence, Hits PlaneSense PC-12 at KPSM

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Six fatal accidents resulted in 22 fatalities in the quarter

NBAA Report Flags Powerplant, Collision Risks in Q2 Data

Curt Epstein

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Twenty years ago, a business jet and commerical airliner collided; the smaller airplane survived

Remembering a Solemn Anniversary: the Amazon Midair 

David Jack Kenny

Preliminary and final accident reports, September 2026

Business Aircraft Accident Reports: September 2026

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

More In Accidents

NTSB: Pax Safely Lands King Air after Pilot Collapsed

Pilot died of cardiac arrest during the flight

Teen Driver Breaches Fence, Hits PlaneSense PC-12 at KPSM

Vehicle also struck parked ground-support tractor; there were no injuries

NBAA Report Flags Powerplant, Collision Risks in Q2 Data

Six fatal accidents resulted in 22 fatalities in the quarter

Remembering a Solemn Anniversary: the Amazon Midair

Twenty years ago, a business jet and commerical airliner collided; the smaller airplane survived

Business Aircraft Accident Reports: September 2026

Preliminary and final accident reports, September 2026

NTSB Cites Heliport Misidentification in Aug. 2025 Crash

Captain opted out of instrument approach over autopilot concerns

Fire of Unknown Origin Led to 2024 Citation X Accident

NTSB: Ignition source could not be conclusively identified

NTSB: Bell 206L Damage Caused by Aeroelastic Interaction

Helicopter experienced a vertical hop for which the pilot didn’t know the recovery procedure

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