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's designee program is a valuable asset that permits the agency to focus its resources on aviation's most critical safety areas, but several improvements are needed to beef up the program's consistency, quality control and overall effectiveness. That's the summary of a recently completed Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the program, which includes positions such as Designated Engineering Representative (DER) and Designated Alteration Stations (DAS).
FAA in December issued a draft of the repair station training program advisory circular (AC). The 44-page document provides guidance on how Part 145 repair stations can develop initial and recurrent training programs required by the new Part 145.163. Included in the AC are the general training categories required, a program's basic components, and two sample program outlines: one for large/medium repair stations and one for small repair stations.
Looking for a quick pop quiz to assess your maintenance facility from an aircraft operator's viewpoint? The National Air Transport Association (NATA) has created one. NATA's Aircraft Maintenance & System Technology Committee put together the 30-question checklist to help "both the service provider and the customer to know exactly what is expected when performing maintenance on an aircraft," said Jet Aviation's David Smith, the committee's chair.
