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.
Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dominance of the engine overhaul market is increasing as newer-generation models roll out, putting independent MRO providers under increasing pressure to team up with manufacturers, consultancy TeamSAI reports. “The new generation of engines is being designed by OEMs with the expectation that they will control the MRO over their life,” says TeamSAI Senior Vice President and Principal Tom Cooper.
FAA and UPS are at odds over nine unapproved airframe repairs missed during an extensive audit, which the agency conducted to address what it determined were shortcomings in the carrier’s maintenance records. The repairs, made to two DC-8s and two MD-11s, were not completed by agreed-upon deadlines, FAA contends. The four aircraft—which FAA allowed to operate with the unapproved repairs during the audit—completed about 400 flights after the deadlines passed. As a result, FAA has proposed that a $4 million fine be levied against the company.
A major fleet turnover in the next decade combined with even more efficient engines coming to market on the newest aircraft will combine to keep the North American engine MRO market stagnant for the next decade, TeamSAI reports. North American engine MRO will generate about $7.0 billion in work in 2013, Team SAI Senior Vice President & Principal Tom Cooper said during Aviation Week’s MRO Americas conference in Atlanta. That number will rise to $7.2 billion in 2018, and slide back to $6.9 billion in 2023. The driver?
