Sean Broderick covers aviation safety, MRO, and the hardware side of the airline business from Aviation Week Network's Washington, D.C. office.
Broderick's aviation career started in 1991, working for Airbus in Toulouse. His industry experience includes four years with an aviation consultancy, where he helped launch a U.S. Part 121 carrier; 12 years with the American Association of Airport Executives, where he served as editor of Airport Magazine; and 20 years in full- and part-time roles with Aviation Week writing primarily about safety and the aftermarket.
Broderick was named the 2020 Aerospace Journalist of the Year by the Aerospace Media Awards. He also shared in a 2020 Neal Award for Best News Coverage with Aviation Week Network colleagues. Broderick and Aviation Week colleague John Croft shared the 2015 Flight Safety International Cecil A. Brownlow Publication Award recognizing "significant contributions by journalists to aviation safety awareness."
He graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Communications ('91) and earned an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications ('13) from West Virginia University.
The Transportation Department’s (DOT) Fiscal Year 2015 budget request of $15.4 billion for FAA dusts off some familiar—and unsuccessful—efforts to boost revenues and cut spending, and reduces funding for aviation’s most high-profile initiative. The request includes $836 million in base NextGen funding, a 7.2% decline compared to FY14’s $901 million in enacted funds and a 5.3% dip from the sequestration-adjusted FY12 amount of $883 million, a budget summary prepared by DOT shows.
FAA will order upgrades to Boeing 737NG autothrottle computers to correct what Dutch investigators concluded is a design anomaly that played a significant role in the February 2009 crash of a Turkish Airlines 737-800. FAA’s proposed mandate, set for publication March 3, would give operators 36 months to modify or replace certain 737NG autothrottle computers. A final directive would apply to 497 U.S.-registered aircraft, but is a sure bet to be adopted globally.
Asiana Airlines has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for its lackluster response following the crash of one of its Boeing 777s at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) last July — a response that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) determined was also illegal. DOT charged Asiana with failing to implement its post-accident family response plan required by the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act of 1997. DOT’s charges and the fine are the first under the statute.
