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

Pilots and air traffic controllers can minimize the likelihood of an aviation incident by working together in challenging situations, such as during a complicated taxi route, according to Alex Gertsen, a pilot and NBAA’s director of airports and ground infrastructure.
“It’s really important from the pilot perspective that we brief ourselves, that we look at the taxi route,” Gertsen told an audience of air traffic controllers during a September 19 panel discussion on surface safety at the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) Communicating for Safety conference in Las Vegas.
“But also, as you’re looking at us moving around on the surface from the tower, your help is really important to make sure that we’re stopping at the right places and are following the right route,” he added.
Gertsen said general aviation pilots face unique challenges compared with their airline counterparts, including flying into a greater variety of airports, working longer hours, and sometimes serving as the sole crew member,” noted Gertsen. “Each day is different, so ultimately we’re relying on controllers to make sure that we’re set up for success.”
Often short general aviation flights provide little time to prepare for landings. “A lot of times, you’re in busy terminal airspace the whole time, so you’re switching frequencies, you’re looking for traffic,” Gertsen said. “It can be very intense on the flight deck. We need support from the controllers to make sure that we have the information that we need and have it given to us in the appropriate chunks.”
The ongoing switch from radio navigation to satellite navigation represents another challenge for general aviation pilots that controllers should take into account, he said.
Panelists said pilots and controllers could learn from each other by having more communication outside of their daily routines. Informal monthly meetings over coffee, pilot visits to control towers and centers, and controller visits to flight decks were among the ideas that came up.
Panelists also praised new technology to improve safety. Gertsen noted the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-08-02/foreflight-brings-back-apple-watch-app">ForeFlight app</a>, an electronic flight bag, helps improve situational awareness for pilots and the runway extension feature in the app can help line up with the correct runway.

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