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.
Despite a half-dozen or so independent efforts marketing soon-to-be-FAA-approved cockpit door upgrades, Boeing and partner C&D Aerospace were the only ones gaining market share among the 5,500-odd Boeing- and Douglas-designed models in the U.S. fleet as O&M went to press. Airbus had yet to present formal offers to its customers, but no big Airbus customer had placed orders with any of the independents, either.
Safety officials working the investigation into November's mysterious crash of American Airlines Flight 587 haven't found anything remotely close to a smoking gun that would explain why the Airbus A300-600's tail snapped off and caused the plane to tumble out of control.
As of March 1, investigators working on an alleged parts fraud ring in Italy still hadn't released evidence implicating Panaviation of selling inventory with falsified records. Meanwhile, the two U.S. dealers most closely tied to the Rome-based dealer got tentative word from FAA that their Panaviation-supplied parts checked out (O&M, March 2002).
