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Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines

Douglas DC-8-71F illustration in National Airlines livery Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Douglas DC-8-71F

DC8-46040Scrapped
RegistrationUSN872CA
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
OperatorNational Airlines
7operators
0incidents
0accidents
0logbook years
0photos

Douglas DC-8-71F. Operated for United Airlines, AeroUSA and National Airlines. Scrapped.

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
MSN46040
Hex / ICAO 24-bitABFDF7
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

With its 7,408 km range, from Las Vegas it could fly non-stop as far as:

LIMLima6,673 kmBOGBogota5,448 kmPTYTocumen4,696 kmJFKNew York3,609 kmMIAMiami3,494 km
Beyond its rangeLHRLondon8,395 km

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

Airports

Airports of the airlines that have operated it

2008–2011National Airlines airline network
Base
LASLas VegasMIAMiamiSCLSantiagoSFBOrlando
Main destinations
JFKNew York

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

May 14, 1969
Delivered to United Airlines
Delivered to United Airlines as N8096U.
Aug 15, 1990
Transferred to AeroUSA
Transferred to AeroUSA.
Mar 7, 1991
Transferred to Southern Air Transport
Transferred to Southern Air Transport.
Jul 23, 1998
Transferred to Florida West International Airways
Transferred to Florida West International Airways.
Jun 12, 2003
Transferred to TAMPA Cargo
Transferred to TAMPA Cargo.
Apr 19, 2005
Transferred to Murray Air Inc.
Transferred to Murray Air Inc..
Dec 1, 2008
Transferred to National Airlines
Transferred to National Airlines.
Mar 17, 2011
Re-registered
Changed from N872SJ to N872CA (still with National Airlines).

Operators

1969-05-14
United Airlines
Registration N8096U
1983-09-01
United Airlines
Registration N8096U
1990-08-15
AeroUSA
Registration N8096U
—
Douglas Aircraft Company
Registration N8096U
1991-03-07
Southern Air Transport
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AeroUSA
1992-05-29
Southern Air Transport
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AeroUSA
1998-07-23
Florida West International Airways
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AerCo Limited
1998-11-01
Florida West International Airways
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AerCo Limited
1999-11-01
Florida West International Airways
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AerCo Limited
2002-03-01
Florida West International Airways
Registration N872SJ · Lessor: AerCo Limited
2003-06-12
TAMPA Cargo
Registration HK-4294X · Lessor: AerCo Limited
2005-04-19
Murray Air Inc.
Registration N872SJ
2008-12-01
National Airlines
Registration N872SJ
2011-03-17
National Airlines
Registration N872CA

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Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040

MLA

“Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040 (Accessed: 24 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc8_46040,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-24},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-24}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC8-46040 |title=Douglas DC-8-71F · N872CA · National Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-24 |language=en}}