Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas MD-82

MD80-49168Scrapped

RegistrationUSN218AA

Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation register

OperatorAmerican Airlines

1operators

0incidents

0accidents

3logbook years

0photos

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 built in 1983. Operated for American Airlines. Scrapped.

NewNearly newYoungMatureAgingOld

Mature · 18 years · ≈ 46,800 flight hours (approx.)

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

Engines2× 2 x PW JT8D-217C

First flight1983

Country of registrationEstados Unidos

MSN49168

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 Dallas/Fort Worth it could fly non-stop as far as:

PTYTocumen3,210 km SEASeattle2,668 km JFKNew York2,235 km LAXLos Angeles1,983 km YYZToronto1,928 km

Beyond its rangeBOGBogota3,933 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.

The full story of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Compare this aircraft

Airports

Where this aircraft has operated, by period · source BTS (EE. UU.)

Flight logbook

Year-by-year activity · source BTS (EE. UU.)

2008

American Airlines · 790 flights during the year · base Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

Main route of the year: Chicago (ORD) → Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

2007

American Airlines · 1,319 flights during the year · base Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

Main route of the year: Chicago (ORD) → Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

2006

American Airlines · 1,293 flights during the year · base Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

Main route of the year: Chicago (ORD) → New York (LGA)

No reliable logbook records exist for this aircraft before 2006.

Aircraft chronology

1983

Built

Assembled by the manufacturer.

Feb 14, 1983

Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation

Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation as N218AA.

May 4, 1983

Transferred to American Airlines

Transferred to American Airlines.

Sep 11, 2001

Grounded after 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the MD-82 aircraft (registration N218AA), operated by American Airlines, was in the news. Source: the FAA (United States).

What happened

On 11 September 2001, after the attacks with hijacked aircraft on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon, the FAA ordered — for the first time in history — the complete closure of United States airspace (the SCATANA plan): all civil aviation was told to land immediately, and by midday the American sky was clear. Around 240 international flights bound for the United States were diverted to Canada — Operation Yellow Ribbon, with more than 30,000 passengers. Airspace reopened gradually from 13 September, by then under new security measures. Source: the FAA (United States).

Source: FAA

Operators

1983-02-14

McDonnell Douglas Corporation

Registration N218AA

1983-05-04

American Airlines

Registration N218AA

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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 MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168

MLA

“McDonnell Douglas MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “McDonnell Douglas MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) McDonnell Douglas MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_md80_49168,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{McDonnell Douglas MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-49168 |title=McDonnell Douglas MD-82 · N218AA · American Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}