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.
How much more efficient would your company's -- or customer's -- mechanics be if the technical documentation they relied on included animated, interactive, 3D how-to demonstrations right next to existing step-by-step work instructions? You may soon find out, thanks to the latest wrinkle of a product that you probably already have on your desktop.
DOT's December report on significant rulemakings listed 21 FAA rules -- five of them of special concern to the MRO community. Of those five, three showed schedule slippages of at least six weeks, with the ETOPS final rule sliding the most: three months. The fuel tank flammability rule published on Nov. 12 (O&M, January 2006, p. 21). DOT added an NPRM on security-related design and operations changes to airliners, but word is that the requirements won't be extended into the MRO arena in terms of work on in-service aircraft. Hence, the rulemaking isn't listed here.
FAA, responding quickly to industry's concerns, has narrowed the focus of its insulation replacement rule, specifying that in-service aircraft need to replace the material if it's "of a blanket construction" or "around air ducting." Insulation around piping and fluid lines, or that's part of a component, is no longer covered.
