New Rule Expected

AOPA said it was satisfied with the FAA’s report. “The FAA heeded our recommendation and will likely issue a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) to require specific MU-2B training,” said Luis Gutierrez, AOPA director of regulatory and certification policy. “We think this is the right result and a much better solution than issuing an airworthiness directive.” But AOPA did have a nitpick with the report, which says that for single-pilot IFR operations using an autopilot, compliance with the AD requiring the installation of trim-in-motion and autopilot disconnect systems is recommended. “The report doesn’t mention the alternate means of compliance (AMOC) to this AD, which we believe offers an equivalent level of safety,” said Gutierrez. “The FAA should make it clear that the AMOC is also acceptable.”