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Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines

Douglas DC-8-61 illustration in United Airlines livery Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Douglas DC-8-61

DC8-45972Written off
RegistrationUSN8082U
Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation registerWhat does this badge mean?We checked that this aircraft’s registration, serial number and model match the official civil aviation register: FAA (United States), data as of Oct 8, 2026.That makes its identity more reliable. The verification expires after 12 months: if the register stops confirming it, the badge disappears.How we verify
OperatorUnited Airlines
1operators
0incidents
1accidents
0logbook years
0photos

Douglas DC-8-61. Operated for United 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 registrationEstados Unidos
MSN45972
VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

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

May 22, 1968
Delivered to United Airlines
Delivered to United Airlines as N8082U.
Dec 28, 1978
Accident at Portland, Oregon
On December 28, 1978, the Douglas DC-8-61 aircraft (registration N8082U), operated by United Airlines, was involved in a fatal accident at Portland, Oregon (United States), leaving 10 dead. Source: United Airlines.
What happened
A landing-gear problem led the captain to circle Portland for an hour while the fuel ran down and the first officer and flight engineer did not dare to contradict him. The DC-8 glided into a suburb with all four engines stopped; ten of the 189 people on board died. Crew resource management training was born from this accident, and United was the first to teach it.
Source: United Airlines

Operators

1968-05-22
United Airlines
Registration N8082U

In memoriam

This aircraft was involved in an accident with fatalities. Out of respect for those who lost their lives and for their families, this record does not enable the register of memories.

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 16, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 16). Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972

MLA

“Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 16 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 16, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc8_45972,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-16},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-45972 |title=Douglas DC-8-61 · N8082U · United Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-16 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}