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.
Pins critical to the correct operation of Boeing 777 escape slides are turning up corroded or broken, leading FAA to propose giving operators three years to replace them. Boeing has received reports of at least 23 “corroded, migrated, or broken” girt bar floor fitting spring pins, FAA says in a draft airworthiness directive (AD) set for publication Feb. 6. In at least one case, discovered during a maintenance test, a failed pin prevented a door escape slide from deploying.
At least a few Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) slot pairs destined for new ownership as part of the American Airlines/US Airways merger may still be up for grabs, and if so, WestJet—shut out of the bid process so far—is interested. Ten slots remain unaccounted for from a set of 104 at DCA and 34 more at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) that American is being forced to sell as part of its merger. Some of them may already be sold to unannounced winners, but indications are that at least a pair are still available.
Struggling to replace the declining aftermarket revenue from a shrinking Fokker fleet, Fokker Services (FS) will cut about 20% of its staff as part of a restructuring effort aimed at reversing the unit’s declining revenue trend. After showing no growth in 2012, FS — the aftermarket arm of Fokker Technologies — saw revenue decline 8% in 2013 to €202 million ($299 million), the unit reported Feb. 3. While the company is rolling out non-Fokker support services, the new work isn’t coming quickly enough to keep revenues from sliding.
