More than two years after the FAA completed its latest evaluation of the relatively high accident rate of the Mitsubishi MU-2 twin turboprop, the agency issued a special FAR (SFAR 108) that makes MU-2 training mandatory for all pilots who want to fly the airplane. The action marks only the second time that the FAA has issued special training regulations for type-specific pilot training in aircraft that don’t require a type rating. In the mid-1990s the FAA issued an SFAR for the Robinson R22 two-seat helicopter, later adding the four-seat R44.
In January 2006 an FAA flight standardization board (FSB) issued a report on the MU-2 after flight testing the airplane as part of an FAA safety evaluation. Once the FSB issued its report, commercial operators of the MU-2 were required to adopt new training standards that became the basis of SFAR 108. These standards, now codified in the SFAR and applying to all MU-2 pilots, include mandatory training for new MU-2 pilots, mandatory recurrent training and a requirement that pilots use the
Mitsubishi standardized cockpit checklist and latest revision of the AFM. In addition, a working autopilot is required for nearly all single-pilot flights. The new MU-2 training is available at SimCom, Howell Enterprises and Professional Flight Training.
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