Airworthiness Directives; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., MU-2B Series Airplanes

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 97-20-14, which applies to all Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Mitsubishi) MU- 2B series airplanes. AD 97-20-14 currently requires incorporating information into the Limitations Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) that requires pilot training before flight into known or forecast icing conditions after a certain date. AD 97-20-14 resulted from the Federal Aviation Administration's analysis that the training level of the pilots-in-command (PIC) of the MU-2B series airplanes made it difficult for pilots to recognize adverse operating conditions and operate safely while flying in icing conditions. Since issuance of AD 97-20-14, a new training video has been developed that includes information that is critical to safety of the MU-2B series airplanes. This AD requires you to update the AFM information to require this new video as the mandatory pilot training. We are issuing this AD to decrease the chance of icing-related incidents or accidents of the MU- 2B series airplanes due to pilot error.