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

A special committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification process&nbsp;established to investigate alleged certification process weaknesses exposed by the twin crashes of the Boeing 737 Max&nbsp;found the FAA’s certification procedures generally effective, according to a report published by the Department of Transportation Thursday. However, the panel cited an opportunity for improvement in “multiple areas” and called for a requirement for manufacturers to adopt safety management systems. The committee, formed last April by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, outlines “numerous” consensus findings and more than a dozen unanimous recommendations.

 


Along with a broader requirement for safety management systems (SMS) for design and manufacturing organizations, the report calls for the expansion of system safety assessments (SSA), closer and more specified coordination among different FAA offices, and an expansion of the FAA’s “global engagement and influence.”

 


Expansion of SSAs—what the committee called an essential component of so-called safety risk management—would better assess human-machine interaction, the committee concluded. “The FAA should consider removing exclusions for skill-related errors associated with manual control of the airplane and ensure crew interaction with automated systems active in manual flight are systematically assessed,” said the report. “Current guidelines recommend that human factors be considered when the system is new or novel, complex, and/or integrated. In the future, the FAA should enhance standards to ensure that systematic human factor analyses are conducted for all safety-critical functions and failure modes associated with a change under the changed product rule (14 CFR 21.101).”

 


Other recommendations include “aggressive” development of the FAA workforce to meet evolving industry needs, “enhancement” of the FAA’s system of delegation within the certification process, and clarification and updating FAA policies on amended type certificates.

 


While the committee found that the FAA’s certification process for the 737 Max appropriate, it did raise the question of whether or not the decision to allow for an amended type certificate—rather than an entirely new TC—might have produced a safer aircraft. “The answer from the experts was consistent,” said the report, referring to a survey of so-called stakeholders. “Each said a new TC would not have produced more rigorous scrutiny of the 737 MAX 8 and would not have produced a safer airplane.”

 


However, the committee also called for a requirement for consideration of the interface between a changed item and the rest of the system, as well as the effect of multiple changes over time, including their combined effect on the flight crew’s ability to safely manage tasks.

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Expert Panel Endorses Max Cert Process, Calls for Upgrades

The special committee formed by Transportation Secretary Chao calls for better assessment of “human-machine interaction.”

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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

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

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