In the history of aviation there have been a number of aircraft that were considered dangerous, including the Learjet 20 series, the Aerostar and the Twin Comanche. More recently the airplane some people seem to love to hate is the Mitsubishi MU-2. There are numerous websites that detail what the authors consider to be the dangerous attributes of this airplane, making statements like, “How many more people need to die … in order for Mitsubishi to recall this aircraft?” Representative Tom Tancredo from Colorado even introduced legislation to ground the MU-2.
On the other hand, there are many people who love the MU-2. One corporation has operated a series of MU-2s in the New England area for three decades. You have to wonder if the MU-2 is so dangerous, how could someone operate the airplane under such difficult conditions for that many years without an incident or accident? How could another MU-2 successfully accumulate over 22,500 flight hours, and 141 MU-2s fly 10,000 to 20,000 hours without becoming an accident statistic?
