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.
Even as commercial jet travel continues to grow marginally safer, the industry is struggling to reduce fatal accidents during takeoff and landings, the most dangerous phases of flight, Boeing’s latest safety data analysis shows. Boeing’s data reveals that the 22,000-aircraft, Western-built commercial jet fleet between 2003 and 2012 had a fatal accident rate of 0.35 accidents per million departures and 0.31 for scheduled passenger operations. These compare to 0.39 and 0.34, respectively, for the 10-year period to 2011.
