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 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), citing a dozen incidents since 1993 involving large aircraft wingtip collisions during taxiing, is urging the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency to mandate anti-collision aids. These aids include cameras that enable pilots to see their aircraft’s wingtips from the flight deck without opening a cockpit window.
The FAA has ordered Bombardier CRJ200 operators to remove certain Goodyear main landing gear tires from service because of a wear problem that could lead to failures. The order, delivered via an immediately adopted airworthiness directive (AD 2012-0881), affects new Goodyear tires made in Brazil. The tires are exhibiting tread separations and tread-area bulges due to low adhesion along the tire shoulders, or edges, the FAA says. Retreaded tires are not affected.
FAA has no plans to change a cargo flight deck security mandate that allows operators to adopt security procedures rather than install a reinforced barrier to keep intruders out of cargo aircraft cockpits, the agency reports in a draft study completed for the U.S. Congress.
