McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 illustration in Delta Air Lines livery Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51

MD80-48102Scrapped
RegistrationUSN780NC
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
OperatorDelta Air Lines
3operators
0incidents
0accidents
0logbook years
0photos

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 built in 1979. Operated for Republic Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Scrapped.

NewNearly newYoungMatureAgingOld
Old · 31 years · ≈ 80,600 flight hours (approx.)
Delta Air Lines opera parte de su flota con aeronaves de mayor edad, pero bajo programas de mantenimiento rigurosos que garantizan operaciones muy seguras. La antigüedad de un avión no determina por sí sola su seguridad: lo decisivo es un mantenimiento estricto y constante.
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

ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas
MSN48102
VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

The model · McDonnell Douglas MD-80

Figures for the MD-82 variant, the most representative of the family

Length45.1 m148 ft
Wingspan32.9 m108 ft
Height9.2 m30 ft
Range3,797 km2,050 NMWith a typical passenger load
Cruise speed807 km/h436 ktMach 0.76
Service ceiling11,280 m37,008 ftIt flies above Everest (1.3 times its height)
Maximum take-off weight67,812 kg149,500 lb
Maximum payload32,443 kg71,524 lbIts 155 passengers with baggage would weigh about 15.5 t; the rest is fuel and cargo
Typical capacity155 passengersUp to 172 in a high-density layout
Endurance4 h 42 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

With its 3,797 km range, from Minneapolis it could fly non-stop as far as:

Beyond its rangePTYTocumen4,198 km

The type first flew in 1979 (47 years ago) · About 1,191 units built · Production ended in 1999

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.

Airports

Airports of the airlines that have operated it

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

1979
Built
Assembled by the manufacturer.
Oct 12, 1979
Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation as N780NC.
Dec 14, 1979
Transferred to Republic Airlines
Transferred to Republic Airlines.
Oct 1, 1986
Transferred to Northwest Airlines
Transferred to Northwest Airlines.
Feb 1, 2010
Transferred to Delta Air Lines
Transferred to Delta Air Lines.

Operators

1979-10-12
1979-12-14
Registration N780NC
1986-10-01
Registration N780NC
2010-02-01
Registration N780NC

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Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102

MLA

“McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_md80_48102,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-48102 |title=McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · N780NC · Delta Air Lines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}