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.
The FAA has ordered inspections of Boeing 747-8 forward engine mount barrel nuts and bolts after cracked nuts were found on two aircraft, including a Boeing test airframe. The Dec. 2 airworthiness directive (AD), which was immediately adopted, orders operators to follow initial and repetitive inspection instructions issued by Boeing in a Sept. 27 alert service bulletin. The bulletin has yet to be made public.
Transport Canada has ordered Bombardier Q400 operators to correct a “design deficiency” that can trigger uncommanded nose wheel steering inputs. The flaw is in the steering control unit (SCU), which can develop an open circuit that goes undetected. “A sustained open circuit could result in an uncommanded and unannunciated nose wheel steering input,” the directive says. Bombardier learned about the issue after probing an in-service incident of uncommanded nose wheel steering during pushback from a gate.
Calling Africa “high on [its] priority list,” the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) is dedicating resources to help the continent’s airlines improve safety as part of the region’s broader effort to meet global standards by 2016, IATA CEO and Director General Tony Tyler says. One of IATA’s initiatives is providing training to 10 African airlines so they can perform IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) gap analyses to identify areas ripe for improvement.
