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.
CFM International and FAA moved quickly last month to address a problem with inferior bearings that found their way into about 50 CFM56 engines, warning operators to check their fleets and ensure that no more than one of the engines is installed on a single aircraft until the parts can be removed from the fleet.
FAA in June proposed nearly $1.25 million in fines against American and US Airways for maintenance-related violations. American faces a $1 million fine for allegedly failing to adequately maintain cables used to charge batteries that power floor exit path lighting. FAA said American used ``incorrect'' chargers and ``broken or inoperative'' cables and failed to do work -- including tests -- on the equipment required in the maintenance manuals. The agency traced the problems back to the carrier's main battery shop.
The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), for the second time in a year, expressed concern that modern aircraft aren't required to have flight-deck warnings that alert flight crews to any unlatched access panels after the sixth incident in two years in which a plane lost a cowl door on takeoff.
