McDonnell Douglas MD-80

The DC-9 series, the first generation of the DC-9 family, entered service in late 1965 and became a commercial success with 976 units built when production ended in 1982. The all-new designed aircraft family includes five members or variants (DC-9-10 / DC-9 Series 10, Series 20, Series 30, Series 40, and Series 50) with ten sub-variants or versions (Series 11, Series 12, Series 14, Series 15, Series 21, Series 31, Series 32, Series 33, Series 34, Series 41, and Series 51) and features two rear fuselage-mounted turbofan engines, a T-tail configuration, a narrow-body fuselage with five-abreast seating for 80 to 135 passengers. The success prompted the manufacturer to further develop the aircraft family with the last member, Series 50, as the reference aircraft. Feasibility study In the 1970s, McDonnell Douglas began development of the first derivative or second generation of the DC-9 family, a lengthened version of the Series 50, with a higher maximum take-off weight (MTOW), larger wing, new main landing gear, and higher fuel capacity. Availability of newer versions of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engine with higher bypass ratios and thrust ratings drove early studies including designs known as Series 55, Series 50 (refanned Super Stretch), and Series 60. In August 1977, the design effort focused on the Series 55. Program launch With entry into service projected in 1980, the improved aircraft design was initially designated as the Series 80, which would be the sixth variant of the first generation. In October 1977 Swissair became the launch customer for the Series 80 with an order for 15 plus an option for five. Certification Type designation Similar to the first generation of the DC-9 family, the second generation uses second-digit notation, with zero for variant names (Series 80) and non-zero for subvariant or version names (Series 81 through Series 88). Because there was only one variant within the second generation, the Series 80 became the family name and the Series 81 through Series 88 became variant or version names. The first Series 80, DC-9 line number 909, made its first flight on October 18, 1979, as the Super 80, which then became the preferred designation for the newly developed aircraft family. Although two aircraft were substantially damaged in accidents, flight testing was completed on August 25, 1980, when the first variant and production model, the JT8D-209-powered Series 81, was certified under an amendment to the FAA type certificate for the DC-9. The flight-testing leading up to certification had involved three aircraft accumulating a total of 1,085 flying hours on 795 flights. After production of the first generation ended in late 1982, a new designation with McDonnell Douglas initials, MD-80, was proposed as the type designation for the second generation and in July 1983, McDonnell Douglas decided that the Super 80 would be officially designated the MD-80. However, the type designation according to the type certificate (TC) is still the original (DC-9 prefix) to save on certification costs, but could also be provided with the new (MD prefix) written in parentheses, e.g. DC-9-81 (MD-81), DC-9-82 (MD-82), DC-9-83 (MD-83) and DC-9-87 (MD-87). Only the last variant, the MD-88, was officially certified under the MD designation. Type certification (TC) . It was certified by the FAA in August 1980. Following the MD-81's first flight on October 18, 1979, the MD-82 and MD-83 made their maiden flights on January 8, 1981, and December 17, 1984, respectively. They were then certified by the FAA on August 25, 1980, July 29, 1981, and October 17, 1985, respectively. The first airliner, an MD-81, was delivered to launch operator Swissair on September 13, 1980. The FAA's online aircraft registry database shows the DC-9-88 and DC-9-80 designations in existence but unused. Type conversion (STC) Type conversions were programs started in 2010 by third parties with support from the TC holder (Boeing, as this was only happening after the merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997) to convert used MD-80 passenger airliners and provide the required supplemental type certificate (STC) from FAA or EASA. AEI MD-80SF (freighter) The MD-80SF was a freighter conversion program for the MD-80 series launched in February 2010, where the suffix SF stands for special freighter. The conversion company, the Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI) based in Miami, Florida, had noticed that pre-owned MD-80s could be bought for under $1 million, and at $2.5M for the freighter conversion, an MD-80FS could offer a narrowbody freighter for half the price of a Boeing 737-400SF. The first conversion was undertaken on an ex-American Airlines MD-82 aircraft (FSN 49470 built in 1987), which was used as a test-bed for the supplemental type certificate. The MD-80SF made its inaugural flight on September 28, 2012. AEI was the first and solely firm authorized by Boeing to receive the STC, ST02434LA, for the longer variants of the MD-80 series from the FAA in February 2013. The converted freighter with the designation AEI MD-80SF would have a payload of 21.1 tonnes and the ability to take 12 pallets measuring 88 x 108 inches, which would be a good replacement for the Boeing 727 freighter AEI itself had delivered 21 AEI MD-80SF freighters, two were in progress and six had been ordered. EAT MD-87 (firefighter) MD-87 for aerial firefighting was certified by FAA in 2014. Note the external ventral tank which adds a 4 ft "vertical safety distance" between the released retardant flow and the engines. The FAA issued the Doc. No. STC ST02507LA, for Erickson Aero Tanker, LLC, located in Hillsboro, Oregon (referred to as "EAT") in 2014 to certify their EAT MD-87 firefighters. In the said STC, EAT MD-87 air tankers are required to drop retardant with landing gear down to prevent stalling. The dedicated test pilot said that during a test with the external tank, the FAA representative was not satisfied with the aircraft's response after being placed deep in the stall (beyond the stall warnings, stick shaker, and stick pusher). In early 2017, EAT petitioned the FAA for an exemption from this requirement, 14 CFR 25.201(b)(1), and requested a "Flaps 40/Landing Gear Up" configuration while dropping, but on June 28, 2017, that exemption was denied with the reason given by the FAA that it would have allowed aerial firefighting retardant drops in a configuration that does not fully meet the stall characteristics requirements on the modified DC-9-87 (MD-87) aircraft. EAT was then working on an additional layer of status display to complement the existing system. Entry into service The launch operator Swissair put the MD-81 into service on October 10, 1980, with a flight from Zurich to London Heathrow. president of a McDonnell Douglas subsidiary, signed an agreement for joint production of MD-80s and MD-90s in the People's Republic of China. The agreement was for 26 aircraft, of which 20 were eventually produced along with two MD-90 aircraft. Upon cancellation of the co-production program, China refused to return the tooling used to McDonnell Douglas, and subsequently used it and the fuselage cross-section design in what became the Comac ARJ21 regional jet. During 1991, MD-80 production had reached a peak of 12 per month, having been running at approximately 10 per month since 1987 and was expected to continue at this rate in the near term (140 MD-80s were delivered in 1991). As a result of the decline in the air traffic and a slow market response to the MD-90, MD-80 production was reduced, and 84 aircraft were handed over in 1992. A further production rate cut resulted in 42 MD-80s delivered during 1993 (3.5 per month) and 22 aircraft were handed over. Other proposals MD-89 In 1984–1985, McDonnell Douglas proposed a 173-passenger, stretch of the MD-80 called the MD-89, which would use the International Aero Engines V2500 engine instead of the regular JT8D-200 series engines. The MD-89 was intended to have two fuselage plugs forward of the wing and one fuselage plug aft of the wing. IAE and McDonnell Douglas announced an agreement to jointly market this derivative on February 1, 1985, but the concept was subsequently deprioritized in favor of the proposed MD-91 and MD-92 derivatives using ultra-high bypass (UHB) propfan engines. By 1989, however, lack of airline orders for the UHB derivatives caused McDonnell Douglas to return to the IAE V2500 engines to launch its MD-90 series aircraft. The MD-80 Advanced was to incorporate the advanced flight deck of the MD-88, including a choice of reference systems, with an inertial reference system as standard fitting and optional attitude-heading equipment. It was to be equipped with an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS), an optional second flight management system (FMS), and light-emitting diode (LED) dot-matrix electronic engine and system displays. A Honeywell wind-shear computer and provision for an optional traffic-alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) were also to be included. A completely new passenger compartment design would have a 12% increase in overhead baggage space and stowage compartment lights that come on when the doors open, as well as new video system featuring drop-down LCD monitors above. MD-95 The MD-95 was developed to replace early DC-9 models, which were approaching 30 years of age. The project completely overhauled the original DC-9 into a modern airliner. It is slightly longer than the DC-9-30 and is powered by new Rolls-Royce BR715 engines. The MD-95 was renamed "Boeing 717" after the McDonnell Douglas-Boeing merger in 1997. ==Design==

The MD-80 series is a mid-size, medium-range airliner, featuring a fuselage longer than the DC-9-50. The small, highly efficient wing design of the baseline aircraft was enlarged by adding sections at the wing root and tip for a 28% larger wing. The aircraft derivative retains the configuration of two rear fuselage-mounted turbofan engines, a T-tail, and has cockpit, avionics and aerodynamic upgrades. The airliner is designed for frequent, short-haul flights for up to 172 passengers depending on airplane version and seating arrangement. Flight deck The flight deck of the MD-80 aircraft featured advancements from the previous DC-9 series aircraft. Electro-mechanical instrumentation with an attitude-heading reference system was standard, with a multi-panel electronic flight instrument system standard on later build aircraft. Earlier aircraft were upgradeable to EFIS instrumentation. A full flight management system or Performance Management Computer was offered. A traffic alert and collision avoidance system, a state-of-the-art inertial reference system, and LED dot-matrix displays for engine and system monitoring were all available on later build aircraft as standard. ==Operational history==

Passenger , operating for American Airlines after the two companies merged. The second-generation, MD-80 series, passenger airliners have longer fuselages as well as longer range than their earlier counterparts, the first-generation of the DC-9 family. Some customers, such as American Airlines, still refer to the airplanes in fleet documentation as the Super 80, their former designation. Comparable airliners to the MD-80 series include the Boeing 737-400 and Airbus A319. It was the most delivered MD- series and often nicknamed as the Mad Dog by the operators, has been used by airlines around the world. Major customers have included Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Aeropostal Aerorepublica, Alaska Airlines, Alitalia, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Aserca, Austral Líneas Aéreas, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, China Eastern Airlines, China Northern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Iberia, Insel Air, Japan Air System (JAS), Korean Air, Lion Air, Martinair Holland, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), Reno Air, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Spanair, Spirit Airlines, Swissair, Trans World Airlines and Meridiana. American Airlines was the first US major carrier to order the MD-80 when it leased twenty 142-seat aircraft from McDonnell Douglas in October 1982 to replace its Boeing 727-100s. It committed to 67 firm orders plus 100 options in March 1984, and in 2002 its fleet peaked at more than 360 aircraft, % of the 1,191 produced. The MD-80 was the workhorse of the airline's fleet throughout the 1980s and beyond. Due to the use of the aging JT8D engines, the MD-80 is not fuel efficient compared to the A320 or newer 737 models; it burns of jet fuel per hour on a typical flight, while the larger Boeing 737-800 burns per hour (19% reduction). In the 2000s many airlines began to retire the type. Alaska Airlines' tipping point in using the 737-800 was the $4 per gallon price of jet fuel the airline was paying by the summer of 2008; the airline stated that a typical Los Angeles-Seattle flight would cost $2,000 less, using a Boeing 737-800, than the same flight using an MD-80. In late March 2008 and again in early April 2008, an FAA safety audit of American Airlines forced the airline to ground all its MD-80 series aircraft (approximately 300) to inspect the wiring for one of the aircraft's hydraulic systems. This led to American canceling nearly 2,500 flights in March and over 3,200 in April. In addition, Delta Air Lines voluntarily inspected its own MD-80 fleet to ensure its 117 MD-80s were also operating within regulation. This resulted in Delta canceling 275 flights. Midwest Airlines announced on July 14, 2008, that it would retire all 12 of its MD-80s (used primarily on routes to the West Coast) by the fall. The JT8D's comparatively lower maintenance costs due to simpler design help narrow the fuel cost gap. American Airlines announced that it would remove all of its MD-80s by 2019, replacing them with 737-800s. The airline flew its final MD-80 revenue flights on September 3 and 4, 2019 before retiring its 26 remaining aircraft. The final MD-80 flight on September 4, 2019, Flight 80, flew from Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago–O'Hare. The retired planes were flown later to the New Mexico desert to be mothballed. being delivered to TezJet in Kyrgyzstan on May 22. Delta Air Lines was expected to retire its MD-80 series jetliners at the end of 2020, but instead the airline began accelerating the fleet retirement in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic saw passenger levels drop critically low for airlines. On June 2, 2020, the final flights arrived at Delta's home base and hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in Atlanta from Dulles International Airport in Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., and George Bush International Airport in Houston. This was the last scheduled passenger service in the US of any McDonnell Douglas airliner. Delta's MD-80 fleet was put into storage. Freighter , at Tucson International Airport In February 2013, Commercial Jet Inc. (CJI) delivered the first AEI MD-80SF, an MD-82SF (the prototype), to Everts Air Cargo, the launch customer of the MD-80SF passenger-to-freighter conversion program by the Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI). In August 2013, USA Jet Airlines became the launch operator of the MD-80SF freighter conversion program with an MD-88SF. The cargo airline purchased 15 MD-88 aircraft from Delta, six of which would be converted and the other nine used as spares. USA Jet Airlines specialized in on demand cargo transport within North America. Firefighter in Central Oregon in June 2018. As of July 2024, Erickson Aero Tanker operates seven 34-year-old MD-87 aircraft converted for use as aerial firefighting air tankers for the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other government agencies. The MD-87 firefighter is loaded using one or two (individual or simultaneously) 3-inch coupled loading ports on each side of the fuselage. These ports can sustain up to 600 gallons per minute flow maximum. Few, if any tanker bases utilize both ports, loading using a single port at an average flow rate of 450 gallons per minute, giving the load time of under seven minutes. Another notable feature of the MD-87 tanker, as well as Douglas DC-7's and some other large tanker-modified aircraft, is that the plane can be flown with the landing gear down during the retardant drop, which reduces airspeed while allowing higher engine RPMs, reducing lag on post-drop climb out- similar to a speed brake. Occasionally, only the main gear are extended with nose gear stowed. When pulling off or up after a retardant drop the pilots simply want as much aircraft performance available as possible. ==Variants==

References: Flight International's Commercial Aircraft of the World 1981, 1982, 1983, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1994–1995, and 2004–2005. ;Dimensions: The basic "long-body" MD-80 versions (MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, and MD-88) have an overall length of , and a fuselage length of that is 4.62 m longer than the DC-9-50 and 13.5 m longer than the initial DC-9, the Series 10. Wingspan was also increased by 4.4 m in comparison with earlier DC-9s at . The aircraft's passenger cabin, from cockpit door to aft bulkhead, is long and, as with all versions of the DC-9, has a maximum cabin width (trim-to-trim) of . ;Powerplant: The initial production version of the MD-80 was the Pratt and Whitney JT8D-209 thrust-powered MD-81. Later build MD-81s have been delivered with more powerful JT8D-217 and -219 engines. ;APU: All versions of the MD-80 are equipped with an AlliedSignal (Garrett) GTCP85-98D APU as standard, which is located in the aft fuselage. ;Flight deck: The MD-80 is equipped with a two crew flightdeck similar to that on the DC-9 from which it evolved. Later models could be equipped to a higher specification with EFIS displays in place of the traditional analogue instruments, TCAS, windshear detection, etc. An EFIS retrofit to non-EFIS-equipped aircraft is possible. ;Cabin: Typical passenger-cabin seating arrangements include: American Airlines was the world's largest operator of the MD-82, with at one point over 300 MD-82s in the fleet. Originally certified with thrust JT8D-217s, a -217A-powered MD-82 was certified in mid-1982 and became available that year. The new version featured a higher MTOW (), while the JT8D-217As had a guaranteed take-off thrust at temperatures up to or altitude. The JT8D-217C engines were also offered on the MD-82, giving improved Thrust specific fuel consumption (TSFC). Several operators took delivery of the -219-powered MD-82s, while Balair ordered its MD-82s powered by the lower-thrust -209 engine. In 2012, Aeronautical Engineers Inc. performed the first commercial-freighter conversion of an MD-82. • Last delivery: March 27, 1992, to Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) MD-88 MD-88 The MD-88 was the last variant of the MD-80, which was launched on January 23, 1986, on the back of orders and options from Delta Air Lines for a total of 80 aircraft. The MD-88 is, depending on specification, basically similar to the MD-82 or MD-83 except it incorporates an EFIS cockpit instead of the more traditional analog flight deck of the other MD-80s. Other changes incorporated into the MD-88 include a wind-shear warning system and general updating of the cabin interior/trim. These detail changes are relatively minor and were written back as standard on the MD-82/83. The wind-shear warning system was offered as a standard option on all other MD-80s and has been made available for retrofitting on earlier aircraft including the DC-9. Delta's initial eight aircraft were manufactured as MD-82s and upgraded to MD-88 specifications. MD-88 deliveries began in December 1987, and it entered service with Delta in January 1988. The final commercial passenger flight of an MD-88 within the United States took place on June 2, 2020, by a Delta flight from Washington Dulles to Atlanta. In 2021, Michigan's USA Jet Airlines added MD-88s to their ad-hoc operations' freighter fleet. ;Performance: The MD-88 has the same weight, range, and airfield performance as the other long-body aircraft (MD-82 and MD-83) and is powered by the same engines. MDC quotes a typical range for the MD-88 as with 155 passengers. Adding two additional auxiliary fuel tanks increases its 155-passenger range to (similar to the MD-83). A Wall Street Journal article about the crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 at New York City's LaGuardia Airport in March 2015 stated that "pilots and other safety experts have long known that when the MD-88's reversers are deployed, its rudder... sometimes may not be powerful enough to control deviations to the left or right from the center of a runway...safety board investigators, among other things, are looking to see if this tendency played any role in the crash..". ;MD-88 timeline • Announced/go-ahead: January 23, 1986 • First flight: August 15, 1987 • FAA certification: December 8, 1987 • First delivery: December 19, 1987, to Delta Air Lines • Entry into service: January 5, 1988, with Delta Air Lines • Last delivery: June 25, 1997, to Onur Air • Final commercial flight in the U.S.: June 2, 2020, by Delta Air Lines The external tank (pod) is installed below the retardant tank doors, lowering the release point by 46 inches and thus reducing the possibility of retardant spreading over the wing that could be further ingested into the engines. On May 30, 2019, AerSale, a global supplier of mid-life aircraft, engines, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, announced that it had signed a contract with Aero Air/ Erickson Aero Tanker to build the sixth MD-87 firefighting air tanker, beginning conversion on April 1, 2019, at AerSale's MRO facility in Goodyear, Arizona. The new air tanker will cruise at 450 knots, carry 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in all environments up to 40 degrees Celsius, boast a 900-mile loaded strike range, require only a 5,200-foot runway loaded, and both take off and land fully loaded. ==Operators==

is currently the largest scheduled passenger operator. is currently the largest MD-80SF freighter operator. Current operators As of August 2022, there were 116 MD-80 series aircraft in service with operators including Aeronaves TSM (15), World Atlantic Airlines (9), LASER Airlines (9), Everts Air (5), USA Jet Airlines (5), and other carriers with smaller fleets. Former operators Major airlines that operated the MD-80 series: • Alaska Airlines retired its MD-80 series aircraft after making its last commercial flight on August 25, 2008. • Alitalia operated 90 MD-82 from 1983 to 2012. • American Airlines retired its MD-80 series aircraft after making its last commercial flight on September 4, 2019. • Delta Air Lines retired its MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft on June 2, 2020. • Northwest Airlines operated the MD-82 from 1986-1999 following the acquisition of Republic Airlines. • Continental Airlines operated the MD-81, MD-82, and MD-83. The fleet was retired in 2005. • Midwest Airlines operated the MD-81, MD-82 and MD-88. The fleet was retired in 2008. • Allegiant Air operated the MD-82, MD-83, MD-87, and MD-88. The fleet was retired in 2018. • European Air Charter operated the MD-82 as the last European operator. The fleet was retired in October 2023. Deliveries ==Accidents and incidents==

, the MD-80 series has been involved in 90 major aviation accidents and incidents, including 47 hull-losses, with 1,446 fatalities of occupants. Accidents with fatalities • On December 1, 1981, Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, an MD-82 (YU-ANA), crashed into Corsica's Mt. San Pietro during a holding pattern for landing at Campo dell'Oro Airport, Ajaccio, France. All 180 passengers and crew were killed. This was the first-ever fatal incident involving the MD-80 series and also the deadliest. • On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255, an MD-82, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport because the flight crew failed to use the taxi checklist to ensure that flaps and slats were extended for takeoff, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). All crew and 154 passengers were killed, with the exception of a four-year-old girl, Cecelia Cichan. Two people on the ground were also killed. • On June 12, 1988, Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046, an MD-81 (N1003G), crashed short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, in Posadas, Misiones. All 22 passengers and crew were killed. • On October 26, 1993, China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398, an MD-82 (B-2103), overran the runway on landing at Fuzhou Yixu Airport in poor visibility due to pilot error, killing two of 80 on board. • On November 13, 1993, China Northern Airlines Flight 6901, an MD-82 (B-2141) crashed before landing at Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport in Xinjiang, China, killing twelve of the 102 passengers and crew on board. • On November 22, 1994, TWA Flight 472, an MD-82, struck a Cessna 441 Conquest II during takeoff, resulting in 2 fatalities on the Cessna. There were 8 injuries among the 140 people on board the MD-82, but no fatalities. • On July 6, 1996, Delta Air Lines Flight 1288, an MD-88, attempting to take off from Pensacola Regional Airport experienced an uncontained, catastrophic turbine engine failure that caused debris from the front compressor hub of the number one left engine to penetrate the left aft fuselage. The penetrating debris left two passengers dead and two severely injured; all were from the same family. The pilot aborted takeoff, and the airplane stopped on the runway. • On June 1, 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420, an MD-82, attempting to land in severe weather conditions at Little Rock Airport, overshot the runway and crashed into the banks of the Arkansas River. Eleven people, including the captain, died. • On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, an MD-83, crashed in the Pacific Ocean because it lost horizontal stabilizer control. All 88 passengers and crew on board were killed. Following the crash, an improperly maintained Acme nut and jackscrew recovered from the aircraft were found to be excessively worn. An airworthiness directive (AD) was issued by the FAA requiring more frequent inspections and lubrication of the jackscrew assembly. • On May 25, 2000, Air Liberte Flight 8807, an MD-83, (F-GHED), collided with Streamline Flight 200, a Short 330-200, (G-SSWN), during takeoff at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. No one aboard the MD-83 was injured, while one person was killed and another injured on the Short 330. • On October 8, 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, an MD-87 (SE-DMA) collided with a Cessna Citation CJ2 jet (D-IEVX) during takeoff at Linate Airport, Milan, Italy. The runway collision left 118 people dead and remains the deadliest air disaster in Italy. The cause of the accident was a misunderstanding between air traffic controllers and the Cessna jet, complicated by inoperative ground movement radar at the time of the accident. The SAS crew had no role in causing the accident. • On May 7, 2002, China Northern Airlines Flight 6136, an MD-82 (B-2138), from Beijing to Dalian, crashed into Dalian Bay near Dalian after the pilot reported "fire on board". All 112 people on board were killed. Investigators determined that the fire had been set by a suicidal passenger. • On November 30, 2004, Lion Air Flight 583, an MD-82, crashed on landing at Adi Sumarmo Airport in Surakarta, Indonesia and overran the end of the runway, killing 25 of 163 on board. • On August 16, 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, an MD-82, crashed in a mountainous region in northwest Venezuela killing all 152 passengers and eight crew. • On September 16, 2007, One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, an MD-82, crashed at the side of the runway and exploded after an apparent attempt to execute a go-around in bad weather at Phuket International Airport in Phuket, Thailand. Of the 130 passengers and crew on board, 90 were killed. • On November 30, 2007, Atlasjet Flight 4203, an MD-83, crashed in the southwestern province of Isparta, Turkey, killing all 50 passengers and 7 crew. The cause of the crash was attributed to pilot spatial disorientation. • On August 20, 2008, Spanair Flight 5022, an MD-82 (EC-HFP), from Madrid's Barajas Airport crashed shortly after takeoff on a flight to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The MD-82 had 162 passengers and ten crew on board, of whom 18 survived. The crash was caused by attempting to take off with the flaps and slats retracted. The flight crew omitted the "set flaps and slats" item in both the After Start checklist and the Takeoff Imminent checklist. The takeoff warning system (TOWS), which should have emitted an audio warning on the runway when the throttles were advanced for takeoff with the airplane wrongly configured for takeoff, did not sound. • On June 3, 2012, Dana Air Flight 992, an MD-83 (5N-RAM), crashed into a two-story building in Lagos, Nigeria, caused by engine failure. All 153 passengers and crew on board were killed, as well as 6 on the ground. • On July 24, 2014, Air Algérie Flight 5017, an MD-83, registration EC-LTV, a scheduled flight from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria, operated with an MD-83 leased from Swiftair. The aircraft crashed southeast of Gossi, Mali, about 50 minutes after takeoff. All 110 passengers and six crew were killed. Hull losses, incidents and hijackings • On February 3, 1988, American Airlines Flight 132, an MD-83, caught fire before landing. The aircraft made an emergency landing. All 126 people on board survived, with 18 injured. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service. • On December 27, 1991, SAS Flight 751, an MD-81 (OY-KHO, Dana Viking), crash-landed at Gottröra, Sweden. In the initial climb, both engines ingested ice broken loose from the wings (although they had been properly deiced before departure). The ice damaged the compressor blades causing compressor stall. The stall further caused repeated engine surges that finally destroyed both engines, leaving the aircraft with no thrust. The aircraft landed in a snowy field and broke into three parts. No fire occurred, and all aboard survived. • On November 3, 1994, Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347, an MD-82, was hijacked shortly after take-off. The hijacker was Haris Keč, who made demands that Norwegian authorities help to stop the humanitarian suffering in his home country caused by the Bosnian War. No one was injured in the incident. • On November 12, 1995, American Airlines Flight 1572, an MD-83, struck a tree and an instrument landing system (ILS), but landed safety. All 78 people on board survived with 1 injury. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service. • On October 19, 1996, Delta Air Lines Flight 554, an MD-88, struck the approach lighting system while landing and skidded off the runway. All 63 people on board survived with 5 injured. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service. • On March 15, 1999, Korean Air Flight 1533, an MD-83 (HL7570), overshot runway 10 during landing at Pohang Airport. All 156 passengers and crew members survived, but the aircraft was written off. • On March 16, 2007, Kish Air MD-82 (LZ-LDD) leased from Bulgarian Air Charter was damaged beyond repair in a hard landing accident at Kish Island Airport. There were no fatalities. • On January 24, 2012, Swiftair Flight 94, an MD-83 (EC-JJS), suffered a wingtip strike while landing at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan. Although there were no injuries to the 92 passengers and crew on board, the starboard wing sustained a broken main spar, and the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. It was consequently scrapped at Kandahar. • On March 5, 2015, Delta Air Lines Flight 1086, an MD-88 (N909DL), skidded off the runway on landing at LaGuardia Airport, New York in snowy weather, suffering severe damage. A few minor injuries occurred during evacuation via the emergency chutes. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were reportedly focusing on the aircraft's braking system and rudder. Only one injury occurred among the 116 on board, but the aircraft's belly and wings were substantially damaged after its landing gear collapsed during the overrun, and it was eventually written off. • On June 14, 2018, Bravo Airways flight 4406, an MD-83 (UR-CPR), slid off the runway on landing at Igor Sikorsky International Airport following an unstable approach; all 176 on board survived. • On January 27, 2020, Caspian Airlines Flight 6936, an MD-83, overran the end of the Mahshahr Airport's runway 13 with 144 people on board. There were two injuries; the aircraft received substantial damage. • On October 19, 2021, an MD-87, registration N987AK, crashed on take-off from Houston Executive Airport. All 21 people on board survived but the aircraft was destroyed by a post-crash fire. During examination of the intact tail section, it was found that both left and right elevators were jammed in a trailing edge down position. The aircraft was chartered to fly the passengers to Boston for a Astros baseball game. • On June 21, 2022, RED Air Flight 203, an MD-82 (reg. HI1064), suffered a landing gear collapse and runway excursion upon landing at Miami International Airport, causing the right wing to catch fire. There were four minor injuries among the 140 passengers and crew, and the aircraft was written off. • On February 9, 2024, an MD-82, registration 5Y-AXL and owned by African Express Airways, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at Malakal Airport, South Sudan. There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off. It received further damage on March 31, 2024, when it was hit by Safe Air's Boeing 727-2Q9F, which overran the runway during an emergency landing. ==Aircraft on display==

• N259AA (cn 49289) – MD-82 on display at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma The cabin has been converted into a movie theater to become the "MD-80 Discovery Center". • N292AA (cn 49304) – MD-82 is on static display at the Carolina Children's Museum in Carolina, Puerto Rico. • N491AA (cn 49684) – MD-82 owned by Oklahoma State University and located at the Stillwater Regional Airport in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It is used by the university's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as part of its education programs. • N948TW (cn 49575) is an MD-83 preserved by the Tristar Experience organization at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Missouri. It is displayed as it appeared in service with Trans World Airlines in a special reversed-color "Wings of Pride" livery in the 1990s. • I-SMEL (cn 49247) – a former Meridiana MD-82 is displayed at the Volandia Park and Flight Museum in Milan. ==Specifications==