A test flight of Japan’s new passenger jet was aborted yesterday for the second time in two days because of an air conditioning defect, its maker said.
A Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) on Saturday left Nagoya Airfield in central Japan for the US, but soon turned back due to air conditioning problems.
The plane took off again yesterday, but problems “in the same air conditioning monitoring system” caused it to return, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp, said in a joint statement.
Photo: AFP
“After the jet returned yesterday, we checked the system and changed parts. After confirming that there was no problem in a test on the ground, today we launched the flight again, but the same problem occurred,” Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman Yuji Sawamura said.
The MRJ, which can seat as many as 92 people, is the first of four that the firm will fly to US for testing as the company works toward getting certification in the world’s largest economy.
The aircraft made its first flight in November last year and has been undergoing tests since.
Development of the MRJ has suffered a series of delays. In December last year, Mitsubishi Heavy said it was postponing delivery of the planes by one year to the second quarter of 2018 for system software upgrades and other design changes.
The twin-engine MRJ marks a new chapter in Japan’s aviation sector, which last built a commercial airliner in 1962 — the YS-11 turboprop, made by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corp, a consortium that included Mitsubishi Heavy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Production was stopped in 1974 after 182 of the planes were sold.
The MRJ will compete with other regional passenger jet manufacturers such as Brazil’s Embraer SA and Canada’s Bombardier Inc.
Mitsubishi Heavy unveiled the jet in October last year and has received more than 400 orders.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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