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 surging surplus parts market caught Rockwell Collins off-guard in 2013 and held down the company’s airline aftermarket revenue growth, which still increased 6% on the strength of mandate-related avionics retrofits.
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has purchased a 15% stake in AeroTurbine, giving the European company a major link in the surplus parts supply chain and providing AeroTurbine owner International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) with a partner well-positioned to help it manage its huge fleet.
The FAA on Oct. 25 ordered Boeing 747-8 operators to check elevator power control actuators (PCA) for missing bushings after two reports of missing bushings on in-service aircraft. The directive, effective Nov. 12, was adopted without prior public comment due to the risk presented. It requires operators to follow the recommended detailed inspection procedure and timeline detailed in a Boeing Alert Service Bulletin issued Aug. 23. The order does not provide additional compliance details.
