DC-9 Still an Airline Mainstay Despite Its Age

More than 550 McDonnell Douglas DC-9s are still flying worldwide, according to aviation experts. For many years the U.S. carrier Northwest Airlines has been the world's largest operator of the type. At its peak Northwest's DC-9 fleet totaled more than 150 aircraft, including this late-model DC-9-51, photographed on approach to Montreal Airport in March 2006. Credit: Doug Bull

NEW YORK (AP) — There are still more than 500 DC-9 jetliners in service today like the one that crashed this week in Congo, with the last one ever built rolling off the assembly line a quarter century ago.

Despite its age, the aircraft remains a mainstay in the industry. Of nearly a thousand built when production ended in 1983, experts say 556 DC-9s are still active around the world.

Industry officials say that as long as a commercial plane is correctly monitored it can fly for decades, and that aging airplanes generally pose unusual risks when they are not properly maintained.

The aircraft was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas Corp., which was acquired by Boeing in 1997. Boeing also stressed that aging planes are reliable.

"As long as the carrier maintains an aging airplane, they can operate it as long as it is economically feasible to do so," said Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier.

The reason for the crash in Congo of the 31-year-old aircraft remained unclear Wednesday. Some survivors said the pilot tried to stop the plane but couldn't because the runway was too short, and others reported a problem in one wheel. One of the pilots reported that an engine died as the plane taxied down the runway, and when the pilots tried to brake, a tire failed as well.

Congo has experienced more fatal crashes than any other African country since 1945, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The private Congolese company operating the plane, Hewa Bora, was added last week to a blacklist of airlines banned from flying in the European Union.

"If there's a DC-9 flying in the U.S., I guarantee you it's in good shape," said Jim Burin, director of technical programs at the Washington-based Flight Safety Foundation. "But in Africa, the system ... doesn't have quite as much oversight."

While the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its requirements for inspections and maintenance of older planes, other countries lag behind in such efforts, particularly developing countries like Congo.

The Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office says aviation is becoming safer every year, but some countries, including Congo, have been slower to improve safety.

Burin said that often, older planes that wind up in developing countries have been turned down by wealthier nations who find them unsafe to fly.

"Congo is just a graveyard for airplanes," he said.

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