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.
FAA needs to take a long look at its proposed requirements for improving fuel tank system safety, paying special attention to how it wants new maintenance programs developed, how long operators have to put them in place, and how much they would cost.
FAA rolled out the final version of its terrain awareness warning system (TAWS) rule March 29, mandating all in-service aircraft ``configured with'' six or more seats -- as opposed to ``type-certificated with'' six or more seats as specified in the proposal -- have the units installed or retrofitted within five years. The compliance window includes one year before the rule goes into effect and four years to complete retrofits. New aircraft must have the systems starting March 29, 2002, but many of them already are rolling off production lines with them.
Boeing could be on the hook for $67.7 million in materials costs following an FAA airworthiness directive calling for fixes to 757 trailing-edge flaps. FAA's rule (Airworthiness Directive AD 2000-04-18), modeled after a 1998 Boeing service bulletin that was revised last year, called for replacement or modification of trailing-edge flaps on about 500 U.S.-registered 757s. Materials costs were estimated at $85,014 per aircraft for the fix. A Boeing spokesperson confirmed the manufacturer would supply the materials.
