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.
Data gleaned in part from the probe of the Swissair MD-11 crash near Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 1998 has kick-started a Boeing-led effort to prepare for pending insulation replacement mandates on Douglas-made planes by doing upgrades during scheduled heavy checks, DAILY affiliate Aero Safety&Maintenance has learned. The effort, launched with a swap of insulation material in the cockpit and certain cabin sections of a Swissair MD-11, will be duplicated with other types of Douglas aircraft, a Boeing spokesperson in Long Beach confirmed.
Kitty Hawk, Inc., has closed the previously announced sale of its Oscoda, Mich.-based JT8D engine and Boeing 727 maintenance operations to Aviation Sales Co., the companies report. Kitty Hawk says it took home about $21.4 million, including $3.5 million in purchase credits, when it wrapped up the deal late last month. Aviation Sales's TIMCO division has assumed management of the Oscoda facilities and will provide maintenance services for Kitty Hawk's 727s and JT8Ds under exclusive agreements.
Unforeseen growth coupled with projections for further expansion has executives at Texas Aero Engine Services L.L.C. (TAESL) revising upward their forecasts after only a year in business. In its first year, the company did 30% better than expected.
