The Mitsubishi Regional Jet touched down in Washington State Wednesday afternoon following two unsuccessful attempts last month to ferry the aircraft to the U.S. for testing.

The progress of the twin-engine jet, built by a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., has been closely followed in Japan because it seeks to be the first Japanese-built civilian aircraft to carry passengers in decades.

Mitsubishi Heavy has a long history in military aircraft but hasn’t produced a civilian aircraft since the 1970s, and development of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet has been plagued by delays.

The plane arrived at Grant County International Airport in eastern Washington after a 68-hour journey from Nagoya, Japan. The jet made stops in northern Japan and Russia before hopping across the Bering Sea to Anchorage, Alaska, and then Moses Lake, Wash.

Two previous attempts were aborted after Mitsubishi discovered issues with sensors attached to the aircraft.

Mitsubishi plans to send three more jets to Moses Lake by the end of the year. Those four aircraft, and another in Japan, will fly a combined total of 2,500 hours to receive the necessary certification for commercial use. The 70-passenger to 90-passenger jet is designed for short-haul flights.

Moses Lake is a popular spot for testing new aircraft. Mitsubishi chose the spot because of the generally good weather in the area and the airport’s long runway, said Mitsubishi Heavy spokeswoman Miho Takahashi.

Source - WSJ