Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Douglas DC-8-53

DC8-45937Written off

RegistrationPHRP-C803

OperatorPhilippine Airlines

2operators

0incidents

0accidents

0logbook years

0photos

Douglas DC-8-53. Operated for Philippine Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Technical data

Country of registrationFilipinas

MSN45937

VerificationPending check against the official civil register

The model · Douglas DC-8

Figures for the DC-8-63 variant, the most representative of the family · it is 54% the length of a football pitch

Length57.1 m187 ft

Wingspan45.2 m148 ft

Height12.9 m42 ft

Range7,408 km4,000 NMWith a typical passenger load

Cruise speed895 km/h483 ktMach 0.84

Service ceiling12,800 m41,995 ftIt flies above Everest (1.4 times its height)

Maximum take-off weight161,025 kg354,999 lb

Maximum payload89,022 kg196,260 lbIts 259 passengers with baggage would weigh about 25.9 t; the rest is fuel and cargo

Typical capacity259 passengers

Endurance8 h 17 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

The type first flew in 1958 (68 years ago) · About 556 units built · Production ended in 1972

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the Douglas DC-8 Compare this aircraft

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

Jan 27, 1968

Delivered to Philippine Airlines

Delivered to Philippine Airlines as PI-C803.

Feb 1, 1974

Transferred to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Transferred to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

May 1, 1974

Transferred to Philippine Airlines

Transferred to Philippine Airlines.

Operators

1968-01-27

Philippine Airlines

Registration PI-C803

1974-02-01

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Registration PI-C803

1974-05-01

Philippine Airlines

Registration RP-C803

In memoriam

This aircraft suffered a serious accident or hull loss. Out of respect for what happened and for the people who may have been affected, this record does not enable the register of memories.

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 10, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 10). Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937

MLA

“Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 10 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 10, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937 (Accessed: 24 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc8_45937,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-10},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-24},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-24}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45937 |title=Douglas DC-8-53 · RP-C803 · Philippine Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-24 |language=en}}