The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), the first airliner built in Japan since the 1960s, has received the Letter of Authorization (LOA) from United States civil aviation authority, the Federal Aviation Administration.
The MRJ has a range of about 3,219km, while a smaller variant can haul up to 76 people for about the same distance. With few seats and smaller fuselages, regional jets are a different class of aircraft from larger narrow-body planes such as Boeing’s 737 or Airbus’s A320.
“The Letter of Authorization from the FAA is another key milestone in the development and evolution of our Mitsubishi Regional Jet program,” said Hisakazu Mizutani, President of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. “We look forward to coordinating with the FAA and the JCAB as we move forward with our certification plans.”
Andrew Telesca, Head of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation’s Certification Management Office, explained that coordinating for joint participation in the certification flight test phase has been one of the program’s priorities. “Obviously, as a Japanese aircraft manufacturer, we are working very closely with the JCAB. With our flight test center located in the United States, and since the United States is one of our largest target markets, having the FAA on board at the same time as the JCAB makes things much more efficient,” he said. “Plus, working closely with the JCAB and the FAA will help make certification with aviation authorities in other countries a much smoother process.”
Mitsubishi Regional Jet is a family of 70~90-seat next-generation aircraft featuring Pratt & Whitney’s revolutionary PurePower® engine and state-of-the-art aerodynamics to drastically reduce fuel consumption, noise, and emissions, while offering top-class operational benefits and an outstanding cabin designed for heightened passenger flying comfort with large overhead bins. The MRJ completed its first flight on November 11, 2015.
