Training and Workforce
MHIA’s PROP seminars keep MU-2 pilots safer
How many manufacturers sponsor regular owner/operator safety seminars on aircraft that went out of production 17 years ago? Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ame

How many manufacturers sponsor regular owner/operator safety seminars on aircraft that went out of production 17 years ago? Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) does, and its biennial pilots review of proficiency (PROP) series has significantly reduced the accident rate on the twin-turboprop MU-2.

First sold in 1968, the MU-2 has, at best, a checkered reputation among pilots. A spate of accidents in the mid-1980s led to a resumption of the pilot seminars in 1994 (one series was held in 1982, not to be repeated). Since the seminars resumed, the accident rate for the MU-2 has held steadily in the middle of the pack for its class, according to MHIA statistics.