Mitsubishi MU-2

The Mitsubishi MU-2 is a Japanese high-wing, twin-engined, turboprop aircraft with a pressurized cabin manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It made its maiden flight in September 1963 and was produced until 1986. It is one of postwar Japan's most successful aircraft, with 704 manufactured in Japan and San Angelo, Texas, in the United States.

Design and development

thumb|right|MU-2 landing

Work on the MU-2, Mitsubishi's first postwar aircraft design, began in 1956. Designed as a light twin turboprop transport suitable for a variety of civil and military roles, the MU-2 first flew on 14 September 1963. This first MU-2, and the three MU-2As built, were powered by the Turbomeca Astazou turboprop.

Civil MU-2s powered by Garrett engines were certified as variants of the MU-2B, using the MU-2B type followed by a number. For marketing purposes, each variant was given a suffix letter; the MU-2B-10, for example, was sold as the MU-2D, while the MU-2B-36A was marketed as the MU-2N.

The MU-2 has a high cruise speed coupled with a low landing speed. This is accomplished by using over-wing spoilers instead of conventional ailerons for roll control, allowing the use of full-span, double-slotted flaps on the trailing edge of the wing; the very large flaps give the MU-2 wing loading comparable to a Beechcraft King Air in landing configuration, while having wing loading comparable to a light jet in cruise. The spoilers are highly effective, even when the MU-2 wing is stalled, and the lack of ailerons eliminates adverse yaw. The last Japanese-built aircraft was completed in January 1987.

The subsequent production aircraft, designated MU-2B, were delivered with the Garrett TPE331 engines that remained standard on all later models. Thirty-four MU-2Bs were built, followed by 18 examples of the similar MU-2D. A number of them have been placed as gate guardians at JGSDF bases.

Air Self-Defense Force

Twenty-nine MU-2Es were purchased by the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces as search-and-rescue aircraft and designated MU-2S. Additional equipment consisted of a "thimble" nose radome, increased fuel capacity, bulged observation windows, and a sliding door for dropping rafts.

Argentina

Four civilian MU-2 (LV-MCV, LV-MOP, LV-OAN, and LV-ODZ) were acquired by the Argentine Air Force during the Falkland War. These Mitsubishis were unarmed, but used during combat operations by the Escuadrón Fénix as pathfinders, reconnaissance, and communications-relay planes. One of their missions was flying as guiding planes to the IA-58 Pucará replacements required after losses on the raid on Pebble Island.

New Zealand

In late 2009, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) took delivery of four Mitsubishi MU-2F fixed-wing training aircraft from the United States for use as training aids. In New Zealand service, they are known as the Mitsubishi MU-2 Sumo. The aircraft were ferried to New Zealand and are located at the RNZAF's Ground Training Wing (GTW) at RNZAF Base Woodbourne near Blenheim in New Zealand's South Island.

United States

Since 1987, MU-2s have been flown by retired United States Air Force (USAF) pilots working under government contract at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, where they provide USAF undergraduate air battle manager students of the USAF Weapons Controller School with their initial experience controlling live aircraft. In the tactical simulations, the aircraft usually represent F-15s and Mikoyan MiG-29s. Students must control eight MU-2 missions before they can progress to controlling high-performance aircraft such as F-15s or F-22s.

Flight around the world

On 25 August 2013, Mike Laver, owner and pilot of N50ET (a −10 engine converted 1974 K-model equipped with five-bladed MT-composite propellers, which had just received a supplemental type certificate (STC) under Air First of Aiken, South Carolina), along with AOPA Pilot technical editor Mike Collins, embarked on an around-the-world journey in the MU-2B-25. The voyage commenced at Aiken Municipal Airport (now Aiken Regional Airport) and visited Nagoya, Japan, on 14 September 2013, the 50th anniversary of the MU-2.

Safety concerns

In the United States, the MU-2 had a spotty safety record during its early decades, as its high performance coupled with a relatively low purchase price appealed to amateur pilots who did not appreciate how demanding it is to fly compared to slower piston engined aircraft. The absence of adverse yaw eliminates the need to use rudder for coordinated flight, but proper and prompt use of rudder is vital to counter the aircraft's tendency to roll in reaction to engine torque; at low airspeed, the aircraft will rapidly roll and enter an accelerated stall if the pilot applies full power without adequate preparation, and safe recovery from this condition is very difficult at low altitude.

Most crashes early in the type's service life were attributable to pilot error, but in 1981, four uncontrolled descents from altitude prompted the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to initiate separate investigations into the cabin pressurization system and autopilot, but the outcome was inconclusive. In 1983, after more crashes, the NTSB convinced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform a more comprehensive study of various aircraft systems; the study ultimately did not fault the MU-2's design, but the repeated investigations had damaged the aircraft's reputation by this time. This prompted Mitsubishi, in cooperation with FlightSafety International, to initiate the Pilot's Review of Proficiency (PROP) seminar program to better educate MU-2 pilots about the aircraft's characteristics. The PROP seminars were suspended following the end of MU-2 production in 1986, but were reinstated in 1994 due to continuing accidents.

By 2011, the SFAR was credited with lowering MU-2 accident rates below those for similar turboprop aircraft. Additionally, although some owners had worried that the SFAR would depress aircraft prices even further, resale values rebounded as potential owners recognized that the aircraft is very safe with a properly trained pilot. Despite these early problems, aviation experts have characterized the MU-2 as being robustly designed and constructed, and relatively few MU-2 crashes have been directly attributed to mechanical or structural failures.

;Japan

An MU-2 (registration: JA8628) is on display at the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences in Narita International Airport in Narita, Japan.

;Mexico

An MU-2P (code ETE-1357) is on display at the Museo Militar de Aviacion at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Santa Lucia, Mexico.

;United States

An MU-2 is on display at Sparks Aviation at the Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States.

Incidents and accidents

As of April 2025, 172 documented crashes and 400 deaths have involved the MU-2.

On 19 April 1993, an MU-2B-60 owned by the State of South Dakota, registration number N86SD, sustained extensive damage to the fuselage and left-hand wing and engine mounts after a propeller blade separation during cruise. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and crashed into a farm silo in low visibility about south of Dubuque, Iowa. All eight people aboard the aircraft died, including George S. Mickelson, then governor of South Dakota. Later that April, investigators' findings prompted the FAA to order the immediate inspection of Hartzell propellers similar to those on the accident aircraft.
On 10 November 2013, Perry Inhofe, son of U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, died when the MU-2 he was flying crashed in Owasso, Oklahoma. Inhofe was the sole occupant of the aircraft.
On 29 March 2016, an MU-2B-60 operated by Aero Teknic, a Canadian aircraft maintenance company, crashed on approach to Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport, killing all seven people aboard, including former Canadian politician Jean Lapierre, his family, and the two pilots. An initial survivor died of a heart attack after being pulled from the wreckage. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigated the crash and determined that the pilot's decision to continue an unstable approach resulted in loss of control during final approach.

Specifications (MU-2L)

References

External links

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America MU-2 Official Website
Aviation Safety Network - MU-2