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 European Aviation Safety Agency is ordering swaps of high-cycle trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs) on Airbus A330s and older A340s after tests on a similar design fitted on A380s showed less-than-expected life limits. Airbus says the problem is in the THSA’s no-back brake, which helps prevent uncommanded movements if the actuator malfunctions.
The FAA yesterday published a rule simplifying drug and alcohol testing program requirements for commercial certificate holders with separate tour operations, eliminating the need to have dedicated testing programs for each. The rule, effective Sept. 14, gives Part 121 and 135 operators the option of having a single testing program to cover both its commercial operations and Part 91 air tour businesses.
The FAA has finalized its new first officer qualification rules, opting to give more credit to some flying—including military experience—compared to the draft version of the rule, while staying within the parameters of its congressional mandate.
