MD80 series plane crashes

Other McDonnell Douglas/Boeing models
DC9, DC10, MD11, MD90, Boeing 717

The following are significant events involving the aircraft model. The numbered events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur.

  1. 1 December 1981; Inex Adria MD80; Ajaccio, France (Corsica): The aircraft collided with high ground in fog during approach. All eight crew and 170 passengers were killed.

  2. 16 August 1987; Northwest MD82; Flight 255; Detroit, USA: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Detroit, MI to Phoenix, AZ. The crew neglected to properly set flaps for takeoff and a takeoff warning system that would have warned the crew of this problem was not working. As a result of the flap setting, the aircraft was unable to gain sufficient airspeed after taking off. The aircraft, struck several light poles and a building before crashing onto a nearby highway. All six crew and 148 of 149 passengers were killed. Two people on the ground were also killed. The sole survivor was Cecilia Cichan, a four-year-old girl. The girl's mother, father, and six-year-old brother, were also killed in the crash.
    More about this event
    Sole survivor plane crashes

  3. 12 June 1988; Austral Lineas Aereas MD81; Posadas, Argentina: The aircraft crashed three miles (4.8 km) short of the airport during an approach in poor visibility. All 15 passengers and seven crew were killed..

  4. 26 October 1993; China Eastern MD82; B2103; flight 5398; Fuzhou, China: The aircraft touched down long during a rain storm and went off the end of the runway. Two of the 71 passengers were killed.

  5. 13 November 1993; B-2141; flight 6901; China Northern MD82; Urumqui, China: The aircraft crashed about 2 km short during an approach in dense fog. The probable cause was an autopilot disconnecting during the approach, and the engaging in a different mode. Eight of the 92 passengers and four of the 10 crew members were killed.

    12 November 1995; American Airlines MD83; near Hartford, CT: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Chicago, IL and Hartford, CT. While on approach, the crew was descending below the minimum descent altitude, and impacted a number of trees on a ridge near the airport. The material ingested by the engines led to a complete loss of engine power on the left engine and a partial loss on the right engine. The crew continued the approach, hitting a tree and an antenna array near the approach end of the runway. The crew was able to land on the runway, and after stopping initiated an emergency evacuation. There was no post crash fire. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the event. None of the five crew members 73 passengers were seriously injured.

    Because no airline passengers were killed, this is not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.
    NTSB Accident Summary
    NTSB Accident Report
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  6. 6 July 1996; Delta MD88; Pensacola, FL: During the takeoff, the left engine sustained an uncontained failure, causing pieces of the engine to penetrate the cabin, killing two of the 137 passengers.
    NTSB Accident Report

  7. 1 June 1999; American Airlines MD80; Little Rock, AR: The aircraft ran off the runway, broke up, and caught fire after a night landing. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the event. One of the six crewmembers and 10 of the 139 passengers were killed.
    NTSB Accident Report

  8. 31 January 2000; Alaska Airlines MD83; near Pt. Mugu, CA: The aircraft was on a flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Francisco when it crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of the LAX airport. Reportedly, the aircraft was diverting to Los Angeles and started a rapid descent from about 17,000 feet. All 83 passengers and five crew members were killed.
    NTSB Accident Report

  9. 8 October 2001; SAS MD87; Milan Italy: The aircraft was taking off from Milan's Linate airport for a flight to Copenhagen when it collided with a Cessna Citation on the fog-shrouded runway. The airliner then crashed into a nearby hanger and caught fire. There was no indication that this event was the result of a hijacking, sabotage, or other act of violence. All six crew members and 104 passengers on the airliner were killed, as were the four occupants of the business jet and four airport workers on the ground.
    SAS plane crashes

  10. 7 May 2002; China Northern MD82; B2138; flight 6163; near Dalian, China: This was a scheduled domestic flight from Beijing to Dalian, China. The aircraft crashed about 20 km (12.5 mi) off the coast of Dalian after the crew reported a fire in the cabin. Investigating authorities claimed that the fire was deliberately started by one of the passengers. All nine crew members and 103 passengers were killed.
    Plane crashes for airlines of Asia

  11. 30 November 2004; Lion Air MD82; PK-LMN; flight 538; Solo City, Indonesia: This was a scheduled domestic flight from Jakarta to Solo City, Indonesia. The aircraft skidded off the runway on landing after a flight from Jakarta. The aircraft broke up and came to rest about 100 meters from the runway. The runway was wet and the aircraft was experiencing tailwind during the landing. One of the seven crew members and 24 of the 156 passengers were killed.
    Plane crashes for airlines of Asia

  12. 16 August 2005; West Caribbean Airways MD82; near Machiques, Venezuela: The aircraft was on an international flight from Panama City, Panama to Martinique when the crew reported to air traffic control that the aircraft was experiencing some kind of engine problem and requested a descent from cruising altitude of 33,000 feet down to 14,000 feet. The crew later reported that both engines were experiencing problems and that the aircraft was not controllable. All eight crew members and 152 passengers were killed.
    Fatal Events for Airlines from Latin America and the Caribbean

  13. 16 September 2007; One-Two-Go Airlines MD82; Phuket, Thailand: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Bangkok (DMK) to Phuket (HKT). After landing, the aircraft skidded off the runway, impacted several trees, and caught fire. There was reportedly heavy rain and poor visibility at the time of the crash. There were at least 89 deaths, including 85 of the 123 passengers and five of the seven crew members.
    Crashes involving Asian airlines

  14. 30 November 2007; Atlasjet MD83; near Keciborlu, Turkey: The plane was on a domestic flight from Istanbul to Isparta when it disappeared from radar screens. The crew had requested permission to land shortly before the aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain near the town of Keciborlu, about 12km (7.5 miles) from the Isparta airport. All seven crew members and 50 passengers were killed.


    Podcasts about this event:Audio: MP3 | VideoiPod/MP4 | WMV |  YouTube
    Additional videos at the AirSafe.com channel at YouTube
    Atlasjet plane crashes

  15. 20 August 2008; Spanair MD82; flight JK5022; Madrid, Spain: The aircraft crashed shortly after attempting a takeoff for a scheduled domestic flight from Madrid to Las Palmas, Spain in the Canary Islands. The aircraft was also operated by Spanair on behalf of an SAS Group member as Lufthansa flight LH2554. The accident investigation concluded that the plane stalled shortly after takeoff after the crew had incorrectly configured the aircraft. The investigation also concluded that the aircraft's takeoff warning system, which would have detected the configuration problem, did not provide a warning signal to the crew. The aircraft crashed into an area next to the runway, broke up, and caught fire. All six crew members on board and 148 of the 166 passengers were killed. Among the passengers were 20 children and two infants.

    Spanair was one of the airlines of the SAS Group, and as a result of that relationship, and because the flight was a codeshare flight conducted on behalf of Lufthansa, this is a numbered event for Spanair and a significant event for both SAS and Lufthansa.
    MD80 plane crashes
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    Podcasts about this event: Audio: MP3 |  VideoiPod/MP4 |  YouTube


    Transcript of audio and video podcasts

  16. 3 June 2012; Dana Air; MD83; 5N-RAM; flight 9J992; Lagos, Nigeria: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria, and experienced dual engine failure during approach. The crew was unable to restart the engines and crashed into a residential area about six miles from the airport, striking several buildings. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash, and all six crew members and 147 passengers were killed. At least 10 people on the ground were killed as well.

  17. 24 July 2014; Air Algérie MD83; EC-LTV; flight AH5017; near Gossi, Mali: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Algiers, Algeria. The airplane contacted air traffic control about 50 minutes after takeoff, requesting a course change due to weather conditions. The aircraft crashed in the area of Gossi, Mali. All six crew members and 110 passengers were killed.
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    5 March 2015; Delta Airlines MD88; N909DL; flight DL1086; New York, NY: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Atlanta and New York's La Guardia Airport, and had a landing excursion that led to an emergency evacuation. The aircraft landed on runway 13 and departed to the left side of the runway, coming to rest on a dike that separated the runway area from the waters of Flushing Bay. At the time of the event, it had been snowing, with freezing fog conditions and below freezing temperatures. An A319 that had preceded the Delta jet had reported good braking action on runway 13. The aircraft was also affected by both a crosswind and a tailwind during the landing. None of the 125 passengers or five crew members were seriously injured.
    Other Delta plane crashes

MD80 series plane crashes
http:// airsafe.com/events/models/douglas.htm -- Revised: 25 September 2017