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.
A small but persistent group of Honeywell T53 engine operators and suppliers were successful in their effort to get FAA to reconsider its proposal to reduce life limits and force early replacement -- using only OEM-supplied-parts -- of certain high-dollar engine components. In the end, however, and despite two years of dialogue and two comment periods sandwiched around a public meeting, the only thing the group convinced FAA of is that the agency's 2004 draft rule understated the problem.
After more than 10 years of careful planning and conservative progress, Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has built a robust digital document management system that executives say is paying huge efficiency dividends -- not to mention saving about €1 million per year.
FAA is rolling out a plan to address maintenance-related issues with the Mitsubishi MU-2B fleet following a sweeping safety review and evaluation of the much-scrutinized turboprop. The review -- FAA's third safety-related, top-to-bottom look at the MU-2B in 22 years -- was triggered by a recent rise in the plane's yearly accident rate and its high rates compared to similar twin-turboprops from the same era.
