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 have determined that fuel entered the oil system of the right engine of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER that caught fire at Singapore Changi Airport on June 27. The breach resulted from a crack in a tube in the engine’s main fuel oil heat exchanger (MFOHE), according to an interim report issued by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore. Engine maker GE Aviation had issued a Service Bulletin in December 2014 calling for the removal of certain MFOHEs, inspection for cracks in their fuel tubes and for repairs and certain “improvement works,” it added. While GE recommended that operators conduct the actions no later than the next engine shop visit, the engine that caught fire had last undergone a shop visit in March 2014, nine months before the company issued the bulletin.

 


Flight SQ368 caught fire after returning to Changi Airport some two hours into a flight to Milan. The crew diverted after a cockpit indicator for its right GE90-115B engine had shown oil loss. Shortly after landing at 6:50 a.m. local time, the airplane’s wing caught fire near the right engine. Already on standby, Changi’s airport emergency service responded immediately and extinguished the fire within five&nbsp;minutes.

 


All 222 passengers and 19 crewmembers evacuated the crippled airplane unharmed after firefighters put out the&nbsp;fire.

 


As a result of its findings, the AAIB has recommended that GE accelerate implementation of the recommendations in its main fuel oil heat exchanger Service Bulletin to prevent another fire from fuel leaking into the engine oil system. It also recommended that Boeing review the need for specific procedures for flight crew in the event a similar fuel leak arises in flight. &nbsp;

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Fuel Leak Likely Culprit in Singapore Airlines Engine Fire

Investigators find breach in fuel oil heat exchanger

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

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.

Preparation and training resulted in a survivable accident

Bombardier Safety Standdown: Surviving the Fire

Aircraft caught fire and burned after hitting a vehicle

Five Killed in HondaJet Rejected Takeoff Crash at KFFZ

David Jack Kenny

Preliminary and final accident reports, November 2024

Business Aircraft Accident Reports: November 2024

Gordon Gilbert

Fatal accidents were down year over year from 12 to 10

Year-to-date Bizav Accidents Decline

Aircraft touched down on the runway then departed onto a grassy area

Passenger Lands King Air C90 after Pilot Medical Issue

Mark Huber

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

Black Hawk had landed on a private airstrip that was also a snowmobile trail

Snowmobiler Who Collided with Army Helo Awarded $3.3M

All five passengers drowned after autorotation into NYC's East River

Jury Awards $116M in Doors-off Helitour Crash

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.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

More In Accidents