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.
Hawker Beechcraft is developing both short- and long-term plans to address a recurring landing gear part fatigue cracking problem highlighted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). An NTSB investigation focused on cracked nose landing gear (NLG) hydraulic actuator end caps that came to light when the gear collapsed on a Great Lakes Airlines Beech 1900D just after landing at Denver International Airport on May 17, 2011. That incident was traced to insufficient hydraulic pressure caused by a cracked cap.
Part 135 operators are concerned that FAA’s proposed contract maintenance rulemaking will impose a series of costly new mandates, goes beyond the scope intended by Congress and does not take into account the differences between Part 121 and 123 operations. FAA issued the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in November 2012 calling for operators to keep an updated list of maintenance contractors, create more contractor-centric maintenance instructions and include them in their maintenance manuals.
Industry has 30 more days to comment on proposed new requirements for air carriers that contract out maintenance, as FAA granted an extension requested by the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association.
