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.
While Concorde's return to service officially remains in doubt, Air France in mid-March was acting like an airline with a plan to get the most famous members of its fleet back in service soon. A visit to Air France Hangar H3 at Paris Charles de Gaulle showed technicians hard at work on four of the carrier's five supersonic transports, doing routine maintenance that went well beyond periodic system run-ups that have taken place since the planes were grounded last year. One aircraft was undergoing a year-long D check that started before last July's crash.
FAA in March drafted advisory material that, if issued in final form, would instruct maintenance inspectors to warn airlines about the potential risks of mixing types of grease based on information uncovered during the probe of a January 2000 Alaska Airlines crash.
FAA on March 22 proposed requiring manufacturer-recommended inspections on certain Pratt&Whitney PW4000s to detect cracks in high-pressure compressor (HPC) drum rotors after seven damaged rotors were discovered during routine maintenance checks.
