AFP, Tokyo :
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Monday it would postpone delivery of its long-awaited regional jet by two years, marking the latest delay for the problem-plagued plane.
This is the fifth time that the company has pushed back the commercial rollout of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), Japan’s first domestically produced passenger plane for over half a century.
The decision to push back delivery to mid-2020 from mid-2018 comes after local media reports said the plane needed more design changes to ensure it was safe.
The problem was linked to the location of certain electronic equipment, the Nikkei business daily and other Japanese media reported.
The company said it was modifying the design of “electrical configurations” to meet the latest safety standards.
But “we are confident about its safety,” company president Shunichi Miyanaga told a press briefing in Tokyo.
The development of the MRJ has suffered a series of delays, largely owing to software upgrades and other design changes.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Monday it would postpone delivery of its long-awaited regional jet by two years, marking the latest delay for the problem-plagued plane.
This is the fifth time that the company has pushed back the commercial rollout of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), Japan’s first domestically produced passenger plane for over half a century.
The decision to push back delivery to mid-2020 from mid-2018 comes after local media reports said the plane needed more design changes to ensure it was safe.
The problem was linked to the location of certain electronic equipment, the Nikkei business daily and other Japanese media reported.
The company said it was modifying the design of “electrical configurations” to meet the latest safety standards.
But “we are confident about its safety,” company president Shunichi Miyanaga told a press briefing in Tokyo.
The development of the MRJ has suffered a series of delays, largely owing to software upgrades and other design changes.
