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.
A shop rag left behind by a mechanic jammed a FedEx MD-11 spoiler pulley, forcing the crew of an October 1998 flight to make an abrupt return to Honolulu after experiencing roll control problems during the flight, the NTSB reported. The board said the rag caused three of the trijet's five right-wing spoilers to jam in the deployed position. Investigators could not determine when the rag was left on the plane.
Two key congressmen have come out in support of industry's position that FAA's planned two-part rewrite of the repair station rules should not be allowed to continue.
Boeing has found two failure scenarios that could cause a 767's elevator system to push the aircraft's nose down without pilot input, prompting investigators working on the October 1999 crash of EgyptAir 990 to plan more tests, Aviation Week&Space Technology affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
