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 Federal Aviation Administration's con-clusion that its new drug and alcohol testing regulation doesn't significantly impact a large number of small businesses isn't backed by sufficient data, the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has concluded. A near-term ramification could be that FAA may need to solicit input from the public on the rule's small-business impact, unless the supporting data can be gleaned from the existing public comments filed on the overall draft rule, the Office of Advocacy said.
Operators of certain Honeywell T53-powered helicopters are incredulous over an FAA proposal to mandate manufacturer-recommended life reductions on certain critical components, claiming that in-service data doesn't exist to support the costly endeavor.
Rudder travel limiters on transport-category airplanes -- designed to control the amount of available rudder movement at higher airspeeds -- may not be effective when airspeed changes rapidly, such as during an-flight upset, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded. As a result, NTSB has recommended that the FAA examine airplanes with the systems and, if necessary, order modifications to fix any problems.
