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

Manassas, Va.-based regional airline Colgan Air has allowed Saab 340 first officer Erich Scherfen to return to work after he and his wife sued the U.S. government for allegedly placing them on a terrorist watch list. Scherfen, a New Jersey native and veteran of the first Gulf War who converted to Islam in 1994, said that when his name surfaced on a TSA “no fly” list in April, Colgan Air grounded him and placed him on administrative leave. During Colgan Air’s unsuccessful attempt to resolve the issue with the TSA, the agency told the airline not to allow Scherfen to fly. Colgan eventually scheduled Scherfen for termination on September 1. In a two-sentence letter to the TSA confirming Scherfen’s reinstatement, Colgan Air does not mention a watch list or the reason for his suspension. Neither he nor his wife, Rubina Tareen, who sells Islamic books and other media from their home in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, has a criminal record. Their lawsuit, filed by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, claims that the government placed them under special scrutiny because of their religion. �

“Watch-listed” Pilot Returns to Work

Manassas, Va.-based regional airline Colgan Air has allowed Saab 340 first officer Erich Scherfen to return to work after he and his wife sued the U.S.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN