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.
Putting three- and four-engine transport aircraft, and business jets, under the first-ever ETOPS regulations proposed by FAA would cost too much money for the minimal gain in safety -- and some suggest that applying a few long-standing ETOPS practices to today's non-ETOPS long-range operations actually could decrease safety margins. That's the prevailing opinion of the international aviation community, gleaned from comments on FAA's ``extended operations (ETOPS) of multi-engine airplanes'' notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which was published Nov. 14.
The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) announcement that it is ``considering'' a rule that would require fuel-tank flammability reduction measures for the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet raises many questions.
Airbus' refusal to provide repair stations with manuals for certain components installed on its A320s is not a violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, because repairing and overhauling components is not essential to keeping the planes flying, said the OEM. The essential instructions, Airbus said, are in the A320 aircraft maintenance manual (AMM), which details how to remove and replace the components in question.
