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

Boeing will recommend to the FAA that 737 Max pilots receive simulator training along with computer-based training before the model returns to service, the company said Tuesday. The recommendation stems from changes to the airplane and test results and the company’s “unstinting commitment to the safe return of service,” it added. The concession comes after Boeing and the FAA for months resisted a simulator requirement as part of the revamped flight training regimen for the grounded jet.

 


“Safety is Boeing’s top priority," said interim Boeing CEO Greg Smith. "Public, customer, and stakeholder confidence in the 737 Max is critically important to us, and with that focus Boeing has decided to recommend Max simulator training combined with computer-based training for all pilots prior to returning the Max safely to service.”

 


On Sunday The Wall Street Journal reported that the FAA has begun reconsidering mandatory simulator training only a month after rejecting the idea as unnecessary. The change in opinion arose as Boeing and regulators proposed rewriting some emergency checklists for pilots and creating some new ones, according to unnamed officials quoted by the newspaper.

 


Meanwhile, the FAA expects Boeing to update certain cockpit alert lights to notify crews of potential problems with the airplane’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS). Investigators have implicated problems with the system as the source of the loss of control experienced by the pilots of the twin crashes of the Max, leading to 346 deaths and the global grounding of the model in March.

 


Following the first crash, involving a Lion Air Max on October 29, 2018, the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive giving pilots of Boeing 737 Max 8s and Max 9s procedures to follow in the event of runaway horizontal trim caused by faulty angle-of-attack inputs to the airplane’s flight control system. The AD came a day after Boeing issued an operations manual bulletin in response to investigators’ findings that the airplane experienced erroneous input from one of the sensors. While the directive required a revision to the chapters in the airplane flight manual dedicated to certificate limitations and operating procedures for addressing runaway stabilizer trim, it did not mention the MCAS by name, and Boeing subsequently argued against the need for simulator training due to the commonality it claimed existed between the MCAS software in the Max and the 737 NG's flight controls.

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Boeing Recommends Sim Training Requirement for Max 

The U.S. manufacturer cites its “unstinting commitment” to the Max’s safe return to service as it changes its position on simulator requirements. 

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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