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.
FAA, seeking to spearhead a proactive approach to aircraft wiring safety awareness, has proposed regulations that, for the first time, would require specific maintenance requirements for wiring systems. The proposal, published Oct. 6, calls for changes to certification and operations rules by ordering manufacturers to create, and operators to use, wiring-related Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA). FAA also proposes to revamp certification rules by including specific design requirements for wiring systems.
Tracking information electronically is not new or novel among airlines and other certificate holders. For example, FAA reports that 107 out of 125 U.S. Part 121 certificate holders have agency approval to track something electronically. The approvals, issued via an Operations Specification (OpSpec) paragraph, range from training records to maintenance manuals, said Rick Domingo, FAA's assistant manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division.
Bombardier is revising inspection intervals for the ailerons on its Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) following a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probe into an uncommanded roll that, according to the board, was caused by worn aileron components. While Bombardier concurred with two maintenance-related recommendations made by the board, the manufacturer questioned NTSB's conclusions regarding the incident and risks posed by the worn components.
