Why the MD-80 Was Harder to Stall Than Almost Any Jet, and Pilots Loved it
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 entered service in 1980 as a stretched, re-engined development of the Douglas DC-9. It carried passengers on short-haul domestic routes for nearly forty years. When American Airlines retired its last example on the fourth of September, 2019, pilots who had spent careers on the aircraft described losing something they could not easily replace. This is the story of why.
Covered: DC-9 lineage and MD-80 development, the Pratt and Whitney JT8D-200 engine, the 1984 American Airlines deal with Robert Crandall, the aircraft's five variants, and why the Mad Dog produced a level of pilot attachment that more advanced successors have not.
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