McDonnell Douglas MD-80

The McDonnell Douglas MD -80 is a twin -aisle aircraft of the U.S. aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas. This short and medium-haul aircraft is equipped with 1,191 copies sold, the most successful Jet by McDonnell Douglas. His maiden flight the airplane type in version MD -81 on 26 June 1979.

History

In the 1970s, a further extension of the Douglas DC -9 was planned. The project was realized as a DC 9-80. On 26 June 1979, the second prototype took off on its maiden flight. The end of 1980, the first MD -81 delivered to launch customer Swissair and Austrian Airlines.

Mid -1980s also brought Boeing 737-300 with a further development of its short and medium-haul aircraft out; she used in contrast to the MD -80 the more efficient turbofan engines of the type CFM56 engines. McDonnell Douglas tried more to do business again with the MD -87. This aircraft had a similar capacity as the Boeing 737-300 and thus expanded the capacity spectrum of the MD -80 down. At the request of Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas later revised the MD -82, from which the MD -88 emerged in 1988 its maiden flight.

However, the end of the 1980s, Airbus began with the Airbus A320 family, the role of McDonnell Douglas as an alternative to Boeing to take over. The A320 family was like the 737 the second and third generations equipped with modern engines. However, McDonnell Douglas continued to be very successful and could each 139 MD -80 deliver in the years 1990 and 1991 - the highest production rate in the production history. Mid-1990 came out as the planned successor MD -90. However, this pattern did not match the old successes. Following the acquisition of McDonnell Douglas by Boeing in 1997, the end of the MD-80 production was sealed quickly. The last aircraft was delivered in late 1999.

Due to the use of the now-obsolete JT8D engine, the MD -80 is less fuel efficient than, for example, the Airbus A320 or the newer Boeing 737 models. In typical operations, the aircraft consumes about 1050 gallons ( 3974 liters) of fuel per flight hour. In contrast, the larger 737-800 consumes 850 gallons ( 3217 liters) per hour (19 % savings). Result, some airlines began in the 21st century to replace their machines with more efficient models - so for example, looked at the Alitalia as the largest European operator of its fleet of nearly 100 former specimens. The last commercial use was held on 27 October 2012. Also SAS Scandinavian Airlines reduced its fleet to the 1st quarter of 2012 to 26 copies; the remaining aircraft were retired by the end of October 2013. The last commercial use was held on 26 October 2013.

Versions

The MD -80 was developed as a further extension of the DC-9 under the name DC -9- 80th Due to the negative image after the accident with the DC-10, the historic abbreviation " DC" was dropped and the aircraft under the name " Super 80 " Sold. Later, the new ticker symbol " MD" for McDonnell Douglas was introduced. Towards the end of production, after the acquisition of McDonnell Douglas by Boeing, the aircraft was even marketed as the Boeing MD -80. The original name McDonnell Douglas MD -80 is, however, far more common.

MD -81

The MD -81 is the basic version of the MD -80 with Pratt & Whitney JT8D -209 engines (and later JT8D -217 and -219 ). Opposite the largest DC -9 ( the -50 ) of the fuselage was stretched by about 4.50 m, so that the machine can carry up to 172 people over a 2879 km long route. First-time customers and main customers were Austrian Airlines and Swissair. The latter was awarded in September 1980, the first MD -80 at all.

MD-82/-88

In August 1981, about a year after the MD - 81, MD -82 was put into service at the launch customer Republic Airlines. For her it was a slightly heavier version of the JT8D -217 - or -219 engines also offered a much larger range of up to 3789 km with Pratt & Whitney. Capacity and size are identical to those of the MD -81. The main customers were Alitalia and American Airlines.

The MD -82 was produced machines with 569 - were made ​​of which 30 in China under license - the most popular patterns of the MD-80 series. The MD - 88 is a development of the successful MD -82 at the request of Delta Air Lines, which was the first machine in December 1987. The main difference is in the modern cockpit of the MD -88.

MD -83

Compared to the MD - 82, the maximum take-off weight and range have been increased again ( by increased tank capacity) in the MD -83, this time to 4395 km, while dimensions and capacity were identical with those of MD -81. Only the cabin interior was modernized. The powerplant was almost exclusively the JT8D -219 is used, however, a few machines also have the JT8D - 217. This version was just as popular as with airlines from unfavorable climatic regions ( for example, Alaska Airlines and Finnair ) with charter companies. The first MD -83 was delivered on 20 February 1985, the launch customer Alaska Airlines. After the MD -82, this pattern was the second most successful of the MD-80 series with 265 machines sold.

MD -87

The first entered service in 1987, Finnair MD -87 is the only member of the MD-80 series with different dimensions. Compared to the other MD -80 was reduced by about 4.50 m, reaching the length of the earlier DC-9 -50 ( see above). Also, the maximum capacity corresponded with 139 passengers about the largest model of the original DC - 9 Series. The largest buyer was Iberia with 24 MD -87. The development of the MD -87 began on January 3, 1985 following an order by the launch customer Finnair and Austrian in December 1984. The first flight took place on December 4, 1986, the FAA certified the type on 21 October 1987.

In addition to the hull cut new cockpit technologies have been introduced in the MD -87, so got the first variant of the MD-80 series electronic flight information system ( EFIS ), optional was a head- up display can be ordered. In contrast to the aircraft from the other MD-80 series, a special version was offered with increased reach of the MD -87, which was achieved by the installation of additional fuel tanks in the rear cargo hold. Such machines were used, among other things by the Swedish Transwede on transatlantic charter flights to Barbados, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Operator

From 1191 produced MD -80 are equipped with state of February 2014 still 564 in active service. In addition to 82 other airlines Allegiant Air, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines are the largest operator of the MD - 80th

Incidents

In the course of over 25 years of service, there were 26 total losses due to accidents of the MD-80 series. Some of these accidents were the passengers off lightly, a total of 1330 people lost their lives (as of 4 June 2012 ). Particularly following accidents were known:

• On December 1, 1981 Inex -Adria Aviopromet collided flight 1308, an MD -81, while a holding pattern above the airport of Ajaccio in Corsica with the peak of San Pietro. All 180 passengers and crew members were killed.
• On August 16, 1987 - Detroit, Michigan, USA, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 A McDonnell Douglas MD -82 Northwest Airlines on the way to Phoenix crashed shortly after takeoff on a busy street. 156 people died, a child was rescued.
• On December 27, 1991, a MD -81 SAS broke after an emergency landing at Gottröra in Sweden. This was due to icy wings. Although the machine was broken at the emergency landing in several parts, this was considered masterful: None of the 129 passengers was injured.
• On 15 October 1993 Swissair Flight 551 had to, make an emergency landing at Munich Airport. This was due to massive developments smoke of a smoldering fire in the cockpit of the MD -81.
• On 31 January 2000 Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed, an MD -83, off the coast of California to the Pacific. This was caused by the wear of a threaded rod to trim the horizontal stabilizer due to lack of maintenance. At first it was difficult for the crew to keep the height. As the threaded rod finally slipped out of her drive and leadership, the elevator began to swing loose on the tail, so that the pilots lost control of the elevators, and shortly thereafter on the plane. In the crash, all 88 occupants were killed.
• On 8 October 2001 collided with the accident at Milan -Linate an MD -87 SAS on startup with a private jet. In poor visibility of the private runway on which just the MD -87 was in the startup ran. At the moment of takeoff collided the two machines, which in the MD - 87, the right landing gear was torn off, which in turn damaged the flaps on the right wing and the right engine ripped from the fuselage. The machine was able to increase short, but the left engine thrust generated is not enough, because it had sucked foreign matter. After the machine has hit back on the runway, yet the reverse thrust could be activated; However, the machine crashed after a few hundred meters in a baggage hall, which then collapsed partially. Of the 110 inmates were no survivors; also four persons in the baggage hall and the four occupants of the private jet were killed.
• On August 16, 2005, an MD -82 crashed with 160 people on board on the way from Panama to Martinique. There were no survivors. The charter plane of the Colombian West Caribbean Airways crashed in a wooded mountainous region in northwest Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, after short intervals both engines had failed. The aircraft suffered during the descent, therefore began to stall and was no longer controllable from that date. The entire fall from FL330 until the impact on the ground lasted only three and a half minutes. Probably the machine got into a stable state known as Deep, the usually even from great heights leads to a crash due to loss of elevator function.
• On September 16, 2007 was an MD -82, flight OG 269, on a crash landing at the airport of the Thai resort island of Phuket on the rain-slicked runway and slid off in a clump of trees. She broke in two and caught fire. She was part of the " One-Two -Go Airlines", a subsidiary of the "Orient Thai Airlines". There were 130 passengers (123 passengers) on board, 89 of them this accident did not survive.
• On 30 November 2007, a chartered Turkish society Atlasjet MD -83 crashed shortly before landing from the southwest of Turkey ( Isparta ). All 56 occupants were killed. The weather conditions were good at the time of the crash.
• Early April 2008, had to shut down its MD-80 fleet and more than 2,400 flights due to technical reasons cancel American Airlines. According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, there were maintenance problems with the wiring in the wheel wells. The airline operates more than 300 MD-80 jets, which corresponds to slightly less than half of the total still active fleet of the type. Delta Air Lines also had to cancel flights. Of closures and flight cancellations due to increased FAA inspections, other types were affected, including Boeing 737 at Southwest Airlines and Boeing 777 with United Airlines.

• On 20 August 2008 Spanair flight crashed 5022 with 172 people on board at the start on the Madrid-Barajas Airport. The machine fell shortly after the start again and went up in flames at the bottom. You should fly to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 154 people died, including five German. The reason was probably that flaps and slats were not extended and a corresponding warning signal has not been triggered.
• On February 5, 2012 was the start of a MD -80 SAS in Copenhagen from an engine and the cabin filled with smoke. The plane had not yet lifted off and could still be slowed down on the ground. Among the approximately 135 passengers left the plane via the emergency slides, the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette- were Marit. In the incident, no one was injured.
• On June 3, 2012, an MD - 83 of Dana Air crashed into a residential area of ​​Lagos. The machine was occupied by 153 people. → Main article: Dana Air flight 992

Specifications

1 Version with increased takeoff weight 2 MD -82 3 MD -88 4, including 30 in China built under license copies 5 including two built in China under license copies with reinforced main undercarriage (two instead of one axis) 6 extended range version of the ER ( Extended Range ), by the installation of additional fuel tanks in the rear cargo area