Cites Four Fatal Accidents In A Year
It's no secret that the
Mitsubishi MU-2 has issues. The aircraft, one of the most popular
light commercial twin turboprops flying today, has been
criticized as hard to fly -- especially in single-engine
operations. Now, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America recommends
specialized simulator training for MU-2 pilots.
Mitsubishi is "deeply concerned, and we're in the process of
trying to get the word out," according to Ralph Sorrells, deputy GM
for Mitsubishi's aircraft product support division, who spoke with
reporters from the Denver Post. Last year, that division was ranked top in the
world in a product support survey among pilots, line captains,
maintenance chiefs and others.
But it's not the support that has Mitsubishi worried. It's the
pilot training. To that end, Mitsubishi is now sponsoring seminars
around the country.
MU-2 pilots don't need a type rating. But even Mitsubishi says
it does require special training. The company wants the FAA to
require -- or at least endorse -- such training.
Since Mitsubishi stopped making MU-2s in the 1980s, about 420
are still flying. Since 1968, the NTSB reports there have been 181
MU-2 accidents -- 74 of them involving fatalities. In all, at least
238 people have died in MU-2 mishaps.
The MU-2 has a reputation as a uniquely challenging aircraft, a
reputation acknowledged throughout the industry.
That's a reputation MU-2s will bear "for the rest of their
life," according Todd McCredie, treasurer of the Piper-McCredie
Insurance Agency in Flint, MI. He told the Post, "Safety on this
airplane is strictly in the training."
The MU-2s high accident rate prompted the FAA to conduct two
reviews of the aircraft in the 1980s. In 1981, according to Howell
Enterprises, a company that specializes in the MU-2, the FAA
conducted a not-so-very-publicized investigation into the handling
characteristics of the aircraft on approach. There had been reports
that the aircraft could start sinking fast, a trend that was
difficult to arrest. That investigation found, according to Howell,
"just the opposite. According to the investigation, FAA pilots
found that with the MU-2 stabilized on a normal glidescope they
could raise the nose without adding power and fly level until the
stall warning activated, without the airplane going into a
behind-the-power-curve sink."
The second
investigation, in 1984, was a Special Certification Review
conducted at the request of the NTSB. Howell reports:
"The SCR entailed the engines, fuel system, engine-out handling,
flight control system, handling qualities in IFR conditions and
flight into icing. After nearly 70 hours of test-flying, much of it
in icing, conditions, the FAA found that the MU-2 does comply with
the regulations. Nothing was found in flight testing, accident
analysis or examination of systems and structure that was outside
the rules or would lead to accidents."
The SCR found that the MU-2 could be flown by a single pilot in
IFR conditions -- the workload wasn't too crushing. At that time,
the FAA looked at the possibility of a special type rating for the
aircraft, but eventually decided that wasn't necessary.
E-I-C Note: There isn't a darned thing
wrong with the "Rice Rocket" that training and type-specific
insight can't fix. This is an unusual bird... fly it like an Apache
and it will bite you -- hard. Get to know it... understand it's
unique pitch profile, rolling modes, asymmetric thrust/directional
issues, and the way that the flaps work with the wing (dump them
too soon into an engine failure and you've just lost an amazing
amount of lift) on this airplane, and it'll get you home so long as
one is turning (very jet-like). With one turning and the situation
under control, the MU-2 is a really solid flyer. But...
it IS different. Fly it like the average piston-twin and
you're going to have your hands full...
It doesn't take long to get to know the beast... but some
GOOD instruction with a knowledgeable instructor can get you
prepared to operate one of the best values on the used twin
turbo-prop market in a surprisingly short period of time.