McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines

McDonnell Douglas MD-88 illustration in Delta Air Lines livery Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas MD-88

MD80-53378Scrapped
RegistrationUSN901DE
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
1operators
1incidents
0accidents
15logbook years
0photos

McDonnell Douglas MD-88 in Long Beach. Operated for Delta Air Lines. 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

ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas
Engines2×
PropulsionJet
Built inLong Beach, California (EE. UU.)
OwnerDelta Air Lines
MSN53378
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 Atlanta it could fly non-stop as far as:

Beyond its rangeLIMLima5,136 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.

Flight logbook

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

2020
Delta Air Lines · 626 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Atlanta (ATL) → Raleigh/Durham (RDU)
2019
Delta Air Lines · 1,828 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Atlanta (ATL) → Charleston (CHS)
2018
Delta Air Lines · 1,849 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Charleston (CHS) → Atlanta (ATL)
2017
Delta Air Lines · 1,897 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Philadelphia (PHL) → Atlanta (ATL)
2016
Delta Air Lines · 1,599 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Atlanta (ATL) → Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
46 days inactive
2015
Delta Air Lines · 1,662 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Atlanta (ATL) → Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
2014
Delta Air Lines · 1,701 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) → Atlanta (ATL)
2013
Delta Air Lines · 1,706 flights during the year · base Atlanta (ATL)
Main route of the year: Atlanta (ATL) → Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)

Aircraft chronology

Feb 25, 1992
Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation as N901DE.
Apr 29, 1992
Transferred to Delta Air Lines
Transferred to Delta Air Lines.
Sep 11, 2001
Grounded after 9/11
On September 11, 2001, the DC-9 88 aircraft (registration N901DE), operated by Delta Air Lines, 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
Jan 26, 2017
Incident at Jackson
On January 26, 2017, the DC-9 88 aircraft (registration N901DE), operated by Delta Air Lines, was involved in an incident at Jackson. Source: the FAA (United States).
Source: FAA

Operators

1992-02-25
1992-04-29
Registration N901DE · Lessor: Delta

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378

MLA

“McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_md80_53378,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-18},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-18}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD80-53378 |title=McDonnell Douglas MD-88 · N901DE · Delta Air Lines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-18 |language=en}}