Tag Archives: MD-82

Allegiant Air to increase the number of seats on its DC-9-82/83 fleet

Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N406NV (msn 49900) BWI (Brian McDonough), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) on September 13, 2010 announced it is beginning a project to add 16 seats to its fleet of 150-seat DC-9-82/83 (MD-82/83) aircraft, bringing the total number of seats to 166 on each of these aircraft. The company currently operates 48 such aircraft and owns nine additional DC-9-80 (MD-80) aircraft, which it plans to introduce into service in 2011 and 2012. Allegiant also operates three 130-seat DC-9-87 (MD-87) aircraft which will not be re-configured.

Allegiant Air is also planning to add the Boeing 757-200 to its fleet for its new proposed Hawaii service.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. The pictured ex-FlyNordic DC-9-82 N406NV (msn 49900, ex SE-RFC) was acquired on February 12, 2009 and arrives at Baltimore/Washington on a charter flight.

Did malware cause Spanair’s McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) EC-HFP to crash?

Spanair McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) EC-HFP (msn 53148) (Star Alliance) MXP (Yannick Delamarre) (crashed August 20, 2008), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Spanair’s (Barcelona) flight JKK 5022 on August 20, 2008 operating from Madrid to Gran Canaria, crashed on takeoff. The airliner veered off to the right and into the ground while climbing immediately after lifting off from runway 36L at 1445 local time. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 MD-82 with the registration of EC-HFP (msn 53148) was carrying 162 passengers and 10 crew. In the accident 154 people were killed, two were seriously injured and 12 were slightly injured.

The on-going investigation has discovered the central computer system used to monitor technical problems in the aircraft was infected with malware.

According to the linked article, an internal report issued by Spanair revealed the infected computer failed to detect three technical problems with the aircraft, which if detected, may have prevented the plane from taking off, according to reports in the Spanish newspaper, El Pais.

Read the full report from MSNBC.com:

CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ill-fated McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) EC-HFP (msn 53148) painted in the Star Alliance livery taxies at Milan (Malpensa).

Hewa Bora Airways DC-9-82 crash lands in Africa

Hewa Bora Airways’ (Kinshasa) crew operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) 9Q-COQ (msn 49176, ex N226AA) was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday (June 21) at Kinshasa after takeoff from the capital on a flight to Goma via Kisangani. The crew made an emergency landing off the runway after a tire was blown on takeoff. There were no reported injuries among the 101 passengers and crew on board. The airliner was severely damaged and is probably an insurance write off. It was formerly operated by American Airlines.

For more details:

CLICK HERE

American Airlines’ DC-9-82 N236AA is now flying in Africa for Hewa Bora Airways

Hewa Bora Airways (Kinshasa) in March started operating this ex-American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) 9Q-COW (msn 49251, ex N236AA). The aircraft is actually operated for Hewa Bora by Executive Jet Services. 9Q-COW is actually one of four ex-AA DC-9-82s being added.

Hewa Bora Airways’ fleet is blacklisted from using European airspace. A company Lockheed L-1011-385-3 TriStar 500 and a Boeing 767-200 ER were the last aircraft accepted into European airspace. Hewa Bora was also the last airline that was allowed to operate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Europe.

American Airlines to donate its McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N234AA to the George T. Baker Aviation School

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) is planning to donate its McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N234AA (msn 49181) to the George T. Baker Aviation School in Miami at 0100 (1 a.m.) on Tuesday morning, May 18 (see Update below). However there is only one minor problem. Due to a new ramp from the 112 Expressway to the airport terminal on Le Juene Road the school was cut off from the airport several years ago. In the past, this converted hangar was the first hangar used by National Airlines at Miami. In the distant past, each morning the automobile traffic would be stopped so the NA fleet overnighting at the hangar could taxi back to the airport for the first flights of the day.

This time the classic airliner will have to be gingerly lifted up and over the broad highway to the school where it will be worked on by aspiring aircraft mechanic students. The traffic will be stopped at this time for safety reasons. The life of N234AA will live on as a trainer for future students. N234AA was delivered new to AA on December 6, 1983.

Here is an article in the Miami Herald with more details on the donation and a video:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/13/1628667/planes-road-trip-jet-faces-tricky.html

Update: Due to weather concerns, the move was delayed to the early morning hours of May 20. The move of N234AA was completed successfully and resides at the school.

Here is the American press release:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/American-Airlines-Donates-prnews-408162152.html?x=0&.v=1

Allegiant 1Q net profit drops 19.8% to $22.6 million

N416NV, originally uploaded by FastEddie-Freedom Aviation Photography.

Allegiant Air (Allegiant Travel Company) (Las Vegas) is still making money. However its first quarter net profit declined by 19.8 percent to $22.6 million.

During the first quarter of 2010 the company placed one owned 150-seat DC-9-82 (MD-82) aircraft into revenue service. We placed a second owned 150-seat DC-9-80 (MD-80) aircraft into service early in the second quarter, in conjunction with the previously announced planned permanent withdrawal of one DC-9-87 (MD-87) aircraft on April 1 (our 130-seat DC-9-87 fleet, now numbering three, operates almost exclusively for our fixed-fee programs). By the end of the second quarter 2010, we expect to have an operating fleet of 50 DC-9-80 (MD-80) aircraft (including our three remaining DC-9-87 aircraft).

Read the full press release:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Allegiant-Travel-Company-prnews-2666182005.html?x=0&.v=1

Copyright Photo: FastEddie-Freedom Aviation Photography. Ex-SAS McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) N416NV (msn 49555, ex LN-RMD) was acquired on February 21, 2010 and is now operating in the basic livery minus the usual tail logo.

American McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 is damaged on landing at Charlotte

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) had a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) involved in a landing incident in the fog at Charlotte on Sunday night (December 13). According to this published report the airliner veered partially off the runway and then scraped a wingtip.

Here is the full report:

www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/1126918.html

Insel Air modifies its livery with larger titles

Copyright Photo: Royal S. King. Ex-Alitalia DC-9-82 PJ-SNC (msn 49434) arrived on September 14, 2009 and is pictured at St. Maarten.

Insel Air International (Curacao) with the delivery of its third jetliner, modified its 2006 livery to now include much larger Insel Air titles.

CAA’s McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 9Q-CAB runs off the runway at Goma, 20 hurt

Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation-CAA’s (Kinshasa) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) 9Q-CAB (msn 49702) overran the runway at Goma yesterday (November 19) after arriving from Kinshasa. The airliner crashed into a lava field. At least 20 people were injured in the accident.

News link:

ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091119/world/af_congo_plane_in_lava

Ex-Alitalia DC-9-82 I-DAWI is “Out of Africa”

Insel Air DC-9-82 N431LF (AZ CS-Out of Africa)(Flt) CUR (RCG)(LR)

Copyright Photo: Roger Cannegieter. N431LF is pictured arriving at the new Curacao base with the interesting homemade titles.

Insel Air International (Curacao) acquired this ex-Alitalia (1st) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) now registered N431LF (msn 49194, ex I-DAWI). It was ferried to Curacao on October 19, 2009 and will be used for spare parts. The crew took the opportunity to apply some interesting hand-drawn titles such as “Scrapheap”, “Curacao or Bust” and the larger “Out of Africa”.