MU-2 Twin Turboprop Suffers Spate of Recent Accidents

Air Safety Week, May 24, 2004

Mitsubishi's North American officials maintain that the airplane has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and that it does not require exceptional pilot skill to be flown safely. Ralph Sorrells, deputy general manager of Mitsubishi's North American product support division, said critics tend not to be MU-2 pilots and operators, but rather lawyers and selfproclaimed experts with agendas regarding their litigation business.

Nonetheless, with the number of MU-2 accident investigations under way, the NTSB may well raise some of the design issues, and it may do so within the larger context of the overall safety of twin-turboprop operations. >> Sanger, email lsanger@slackdavis.com; Kennedy, e-mail donaldkennedy@cs.com; Breiling, email rbreiling@bigplanet.com; Sorrells, e-mail rmsfly@aol.com <<

'To Decrease the Chance of Icing-Related Accidents'

Airworthiness Directive AD 2003-22-07 R1, published March 2, 2004, Federal Register (extracts):

"Analysis that the training level of the pilots-in-command (PIC) of the MU-2B series airplanes made it difficult for them to recognize adverse operating conditions and operate safely while flying in icing conditions caused [the] FAA to issue .... AD 2003-22-07.

"AD 2003-22-07 incorrectly stated on or before June 15, 2004, no PIC of a MU-2B series airplane in a flight into ... icing conditions, unless the PIC has received the required icing awareness training [IAT].

"Starting on or before June 15, 2004, means that after June 15, 2004, there is no longer a requirement to get the IAT training. This was not the intent of the FAA.

"We are issuing this AD to ensure that the IAT requirement continues after June 15, 2004, in order to decrease the chance of icing-related incidents or accidents of the MU-2B series airplanes due to pilot error."

Accident Rates Compared 1964-2002 Accidents per 100,000 flight hours
Airplane      Overall accident rate  Fatal accident rate
MU-2          4.62                   1.95
King Air 200  0.97                   0.26
Source: Sanger

Accident Rates Compared 1999-2003 Accidents per 100,000 flight hours
Airplane                 Overall accident rate  Fatal accident rate
MU-2                     2.37                   1.26
Merlin                   4.22                   1.05
Overall turboprop fleet  1.68                   0.58
Source: Robt. E. Breiling Associates

Accident Histories 1985-2004 (to date)
Aircraft (Number built)     Accidents  Fatalities
Beech 200  (1,812)          64         84
Cessna 208 Caravan (1,345)  115        152
MU-2  (703)                 74         97
Source: NTSB

CHARACTERISTICS COMPARED BEECH 200 & MU-2
Item                     Beech 200          MU-2B-26A
Max. takeoff weight      12,500 lb.         10,470 lb.
Length                   43.8 ft.           33.2 ft.
Wingspan                 54.5 ft.           39.1 ft.
Wing area                303 ft.2           178 ft.2
Propeller diameter       8.2 ft. (3 blade)  7.5 ft. (4 blade)
Hp. Per engine           850 hp.            665 hp.
Power loading (lb./hp.)  7.35 lb./hp.       7.87 lb./hp.
Wing loading (lb./ft.2)  41.3 lb./ft.2      57.0 lb./ft.2
High speed cruise        289 knots          308 knots
Takeoff field length     1,856 ft.          2,245 ft.
Service ceiling          35,000 ft.         29,750 ft.
Range                    2,272 NM           1,395 NM
Resale value             $700K - $1,900 K   $125K - $200K
Sources: FAA, Jane's All the World's Aircraft