Douglas (McDonnell Douglas) · Single-aisle jet
Douglas DC-8
Is the Douglas DC-8 safe? It ranks #0 of 53 airliner families we rate, with 25 fatal accidents counted in about 24 million passenger flights.
High confidenceRetired from passenger serviceUpdated 10 October 2026
Spot a mistake?
1 in 1.4 millionchance of dying on a flight0.69 deaths per million passenger boardings
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 25 in 23.7 million flights
1.1 fatal passenger accidents per million flights. Counted: passenger flights, accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 16.4
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 23.7 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1959 to 7 October 2026 from a fleet model: deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 30 years and about 1,599 departures per aircraft per year (average of similar types in OpenSky). OpenSky sees too few of these aircraft because they were retired before 2019. Uncertainty roughly ±50%.
- Technology generation
- Gen 1 jet (early jets, 1950s-60s designs)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of their generation: 0.71 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 59.5 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 89%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 11 July 1991
Nigeria Airways, lsf Nationair, 2,8 km S of Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Saudi Arabia: 261 of 261 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 84
Civil aircraft destroyed or written off from all causes, including non-fatal accidents, cargo flights and attacks; airframes flown by air forces on military operations are left out (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Douglas DC-8 carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- One flight on the Douglas DC-8This aircraft1 in 1.4 million
- A day of skiing1 in 1.3 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
25 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 2,132 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria Airways, lsf NationairDC-8-61 · 2,8 km S of Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Saudi Arabia | 261 / 261 on board | Under-inflated tyres failed on the takeoff roll and burning rubber was retracted into the wheel well. The fire spread through the hydraulics and cabin floor, and the jet crashed short of the runway while returning. Maintenance staff knew the pressures were low.Type: FireASN record | |
| Surinam Airways PY764DC-8-62 · 3 km W of Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport (PBM), Suriname | 176 / 187 on board | Arriving in fog, the captain, over the legal age limit and not properly qualified, flew an ILS that was not approved for use and went below minimums; the jet hit trees and crashed inverted. The commission also blamed the airline's crew hiring practices.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Arrow Air MF1285RDC-8-63CF · 1 km SW of Gander Airport, NL (YQX), Canada | 256 / 256 on board | The DC-8, carrying US troops home from Sinai, barely climbed after lift-off from Gander, stalled and hit terrain beyond the runway. The board majority blamed ice on the wings; four members dissented, pointing to an in-flight fire.Type: IcingASN record | |
| Swissair SR316DC-8-62 · Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH), Greece | 14 / 154 on board | After an unstable approach, the DC-8 landed fast and long on a wet runway, and the crew did not use full braking or reverse. It overran onto a road and broke up; fire killed 14 passengers seated towards the rear.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| United Airlines UA173DC-8-61 · 11 km ESE of Portland International Airport, OR (PDX), United States of America | 10 / 189 on board | The DC-8 circled near Portland for about an hour while the crew dealt with a landing gear problem. The captain did not heed fuel warnings from his crew; the engines ran dry and the jet crashed into a wooded suburb. There was no fire.Type: FuelASN record | |
| Loftleidir, opf Garuda Indonesia Airways LL001DC-8-63CF · 2,1 km NE of Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Sri Lanka | 183 / 262 on board | On a night ILS approach to Colombo, the crew let the DC-8 sink far too fast, missed altitude callouts and began the go-around too late; it hit a plantation 2 km short. Iceland's authority instead blamed a faulty glide slope and radar errors.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Japan Air Lines - JALDC-8-62H · 6,5 km NW of Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL), Malaysia | 34 / 79 on board | On a VOR approach in bad weather, the captain descended below the minimum descent altitude without seeing the runway and the DC-8 struck a hill 4 nm short. The co-pilot did not challenge the breach of company rules.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Martinair Holland MP138DC-8-55F · Maskeliya, Sri Lanka | 191 / 191 on board | Descending towards Colombo with Hajj pilgrims aboard, the crew misjudged their position, relying on Doppler and weather radar, and went below safe altitude. The DC-8 flew into a mountain near Maskeliya about 40 nm east of the airport.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Japan Air Lines - JAL JL446DC-8-62 · Moskva-Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO), Russia | 61 / 76 on board | Just after takeoff the DC-8 was pitched up to an excessive angle of attack, lost speed and height from about 100 m and crashed. Investigators named two possible triggers: spoilers deployed in flight, or loss of control after engine trouble possibly caused by intake ice.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Japan Air Lines - JAL JL471DC-8-53 · ca 20 km E of Delhi-Palam Airport (DEL), India | 82 / 87 on board | On a straight-in ILS approach to runway 28 the DC-8 came down far too early and hit the banks of the Yamuna river, also killing people on the ground. Japanese investigators pointed to a false glide-path signal; Indian investigators blamed the crew for ignoring procedures.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| AlitaliaDC-8-43 · 5 km SW of Palermo, Italy | 115 / 115 on board | On a night approach to Palermo, the DC-8 struck Mount Longa at about 2,000 ft, just below its summit, in broken cloud. The crew had not kept to the published approach procedure.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Capitol AirwaysDC-8-63CF · Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC), United States of America | 47 / 229 on board | The DC-8's main wheels stayed locked during the takeoff run on an icy runway, so it never reached flying speed. It ran off the end into a ditch and burned. Whether a brake fault or a parking brake left on caused the lock-up could not be determined.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Air Canada AC621DC-8-63 · 11 km N of Toronto International Airport, ON (YYZ), Canada | 109 / 109 on board | As the captain flared, the first officer deployed the ground spoilers about 60 ft up instead of arming them. The DC-8 dropped, struck the runway and lost an engine, then went around trailing fuel and fire; explosions broke up the right wing and it crashed.Type: Hard landing or abnormal runway contactASN record | |
| Scandinavian Airlines System - SAS SK933DC-8-62 · 11 km W off Los Angeles, CA [Santa Monica Bay], United States of America | 15 / 45 on board | On a night VOR approach over the sea, the crew became absorbed by an unsafe nose-gear light and nobody watched the altitude; the DC-8 descended into Santa Monica Bay. Confusing gear-light design and a crossing altitude missing from the chart contributed.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| AlitaliaDC-8-43 · 11,5 km N of Milano-Malpensa Airport (MXP), Italy | 12 / 95 on board | Descending to Malpensa in cloud and storm turbulence, the crew made a non-standard orbit, overshot the airport and lost track of their position; the DC-8 hit a wooded hillside north of the field. Poor timing checks and VOR radial errors were cited.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Varig RG837DC-8-33 · Monrovia-Roberts International Airport (ROB), Liberia | 51 / 90 on board | Arriving too high over the Monrovia locator, the captain steepened the descent instead of going around; entering stratus and fog patches, the DC-8 hit the ground well short of runway 04 and burned. He failed to check the fast descent in time.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Canadian Pacific Air Lines - CPALDC-8-43 · Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND), Japan | 64 / 72 on board | On a second GCA approach to Haneda at night in poor visibility, the DC-8 slipped below the glide path, kept descending despite an instruction to level off, hit approach lights and a sea wall and burned. The pilot misjudged the approach in very difficult weather.Type: Landed short or longASN record | |
| Eastern Air Lines EA304DC-8-21 · 30,5 km NE off New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY), United States of America | 58 / 58 on board | Climbing at night through cloud with its pitch trim compensator inoperative, the DC-8 met severe turbulence, probably entered pilot-induced oscillations and dived into Lake Pontchartrain. Investigators blamed reduced stability from abnormal trim settings.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Trans-Canada Air Lines - TCALDC-8-54F · Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville, QC, Canada | 118 / 118 on board | Shortly after leaving Montreal in cloud, the DC-8 veered right and dived into the ground at very high speed. Investigators concluded the pilot had trimmed nearly fully nose-down, most likely after an unnoticed pitch trim compensator extension, and could not recover.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Panair do BrasilDC-8-33 · Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, RJ (GIG), Brazil | 15 / 105 on board | The DC-8 would not rotate because the stabiliser trim had moved to nose-down. A late abort and poor stopping technique sent it off the runway, through the airport wall and into the sea. The emergency lights failed, and the evacuation in darkness was chaotic.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Alitalia AZ771DC-8-43 · 11 km NW of Junnar, India | 94 / 94 on board | Believing he was closer to Bombay than he was, the pilot began descending too early at night in cloud and the DC-8 struck Davandyachi Hill at about 3,600 ft. He had not cross-checked the available navaids and did not know the terrain.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| United AirlinesDC-8-12 · Denver-Stapleton International Airport, CO (DEN), United States of America | 17 / 122 on board | After a hydraulic failure the DC-8 landed at Denver, but the reversers on two engines failed when reverse was selected; the uneven thrust swung it off the runway into construction work and it burned. The first officer had not watched the reverser lights.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| VIASA, lsf KLM Royal Dutch AirlinesDC-8-53 · 3 km WNW off Fonte da Telha, Portugal | 61 / 61 on board | Climbing out of Lisbon at night, the DC-8 entered a spiralling dive to the left and hit the sea within a minute. No cause was established; Dutch authorities thought a failed artificial horizon or a distraction might have misled the pilots.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Aeronaves de MéxicoDC-8-21 · New York-Idlewild International Airport, NY (IDL), United States of America | 4 / 106 on board | During the takeoff run at Idlewild in snow, a check pilot seated behind the crew reached forward without warning and pulled the throttles back. The DC-8 could not stop in time, broke through a blast fence and burned.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| United AirlinesDC-8-11 · New York, NY, United States of America | 84 / 84 on board | Inbound to Idlewild, the DC-8 flew past its clearance limit at Preston and hit a TWA Constellation at about 5,200 ft; the Constellation fell on Staten Island and the DC-8 crashed in Brooklyn. High speed and a shortened route contributed.Type: Mid-air collisionASN record |
Listed but not counted
These events did not happen on regular passenger flights or were caused by a crime or a deliberate act, which says little about the aircraft design.
| Date | Flight | Killed | Why not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emery WorldwideDC-8-71F · 2,4 km E of Sacramento-Mather Airport, CA (MHR), United States of America | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. Cargo flight whose crew reported trim and balance trouble just after leaving Mather; it crashed into a salvage yard full of cars. The NTSB found the right elevator tab had come loose because its attachment bolt was not properly secured and checked.Type: System failureASN record | |
| Fine AirDC-8-61F · Miami International Airport, FL (MIA), United States of America | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. Cargo flight that pitched up steeply on takeoff from Miami and crashed. The NTSB found the aircraft was loaded with the wrong plan after a swap, putting the balance too far aft, and faulted the airline's control over loading and FAA oversight.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Airborne ExpressDC-8-63F · 6,5 km W of Narrows, VA, United States of America | 6 / 6 on board | Test flight. Post-maintenance functional check flight after a major overhaul and modifications. During planned stall tests the pilot flying used wrong recovery inputs, the captain did not correct them, and the jet crashed; the stall warning was inoperative.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Líneas Aéreas del Caribe - LAC ColombiaDC-8-55F · 2 km N of Asunción-Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU), Paraguay | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. Empty positioning flight from Asunción. Power was pulled back on two engines during the takeoff, probably for unauthorised training, and with gear and flaps still out the jet slowed, lost lift and came down on a sports ground.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Air Transport International - ATIDC-8-63F · Kansas City International Airport, MO (MCI), United States of America | 3 / 3 on board | Ferry flight without passengers. Ferry flight attempting a three-engine takeoff from Kansas City. The crew lost directional control, rotated too early with a tail strike and crashed just after liftoff; the NTSB cited poor grasp of the procedure, fatigue and weak oversight.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Air Transport International (ATI)DC-8-63F · 5 km NW of Toledo-Express Airport, OH (TOL), United States of America | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. Night cargo flight that struggled to capture the ILS at Toledo in a strong crosswind and went around twice. The captain became disoriented, the aircraft rolled and pitched to extreme angles, and it hit the ground before recovery.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Faucett PerúDC-8 · Lima International Airport (LIM), Peru | 1 / 135 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). An armed man seized the domestic flight to Lima over a dispute with his employer. Most passengers were released after talks, and the hijacking ended when a police officer posing as a mechanic boarded and shot him dead; two others were wounded.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Arax AirlinesDC-8-55F · Cairo International Airport (CAI), Egypt | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. On a cargo flight to Sharjah, an engine caught fire during the second take-off attempt and the DC-8 crashed at the far end of the runway.Type: FireASN record | |
| AECA - Aeroservicios EcuatorianosDC-8-55F · Quito-Mariscal Sucre Airport (UIO), Ecuador | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. After a two-hour delay caused by striking aircrew boarding the jet, the cargo DC-8 was rushed out and the tailplane trim was left far from the take-off setting. It could not lift off in time, ran past the runway end, clipped the ILS aerial and fell onto houses.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| United AirlinesDC-8-54F · Detroit-Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, MI (DTW), United States of America | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. On a night cargo flight the crew missed the stabiliser trim, which stayed at its landing setting, and the captain let the unqualified flight engineer take the right seat for take-off. The DC-8 climbed to about 1,000 feet, rolled right until vertical and hit a field.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Japan Air Lines - JAL JL350DC-8-61 · Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND), Japan | 24 / 174 on board | Deliberate act by a crew member. On approach to Tokyo Haneda the captain, who was mentally ill, deliberately cut power and engaged reverse thrust; the DC-8 crashed short of the runway and 24 of 174 people on board died.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Aeronaves del PeruDC-8-33F · near Iquitos, Peru | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. The leased DC-8 freighter crashed into jungle while approaching Iquitos from Lima. No cause is recorded.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| Aeronaves del PeruDC-8-43F · 24 km from Mexico City-Juarez International Airport (MEX), Mexico | 3 / 7 on board | Cargo flight. On a cargo flight to Mexico City the crew reported descending to FL90; the DC-8 then flew into a hill hidden in fog about 24 km from the airport.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| United AirlinesDC-8-54F · 5 km E of Kaysville, UT, United States of America | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. With an electrical fault, the cargo DC-8 was holding near Salt Lake City while the crew talked to company maintenance off frequency for several minutes. It drifted near high ground and hit a mountain. The NTSB cited a vague holding clearance and loose procedures.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Overseas National Airways - ONADC-8-63CF · Niamey, Niger | 2 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. The DC-8, flying cargo for UTA from Paris, crashed before reaching runway 09 at Niamey; two of the four on board died. No cause is recorded.Type: Landed short or longASN record | |
| Japan Air Lines - JALDC-8-62AF · Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC), United States of America | 5 / 5 on board | Cargo flight. On a cargo flight the captain, heavily drunk, taxied to the wrong runway in fog before being redirected. Moments after lift-off the jet stalled and hit the ground. The NTSB cited his control inputs, airframe ice, and the other crew not stopping him from flying.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Cubana de AviaciónDC-8-43 · 8 km W off Bridgetown International Airport (BGI), Barbados | 73 / 73 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Nine minutes after leaving Barbados a bomb went off in the rear cabin. The crew tried to return, but the fire filled the jet with toxic smoke, overcame the pilots, and the DC-8 dived into the sea.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| World AirwaysDC-8-63CF · near Cold Bay, AK, United States of America | 6 / 6 on board | Cargo flight. The DC-8 was flying military cargo under contract when the captain left the approved instrument approach into Cold Bay. It descended into an area of poor navigation signals and hit Mount Dutton at about 3,500 feet.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Air CanadaDC-8-60 · Frankfurt, Germany | 1 / 135 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). One person died on the DC-8 at Frankfurt in what is recorded as an act of unlawful interference. No details are recorded.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| AviacoDC-8-52 · 21 km E off Arinaga, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain | 10 / 10 on board | Ferry flight without passengers. The DC-8 was flying empty to Las Palmas to collect tourists bound for Hamburg when it went into the sea off Gran Canaria and sank in deep water. No cause is recorded.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| Trans International AirlinesDC-8-63CF · New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK), United States of America | 11 / 11 on board | Ferry flight without passengers. On an empty ferry departure, the DC-8 freighter's nose rose early in the take-off run. It climbed to a few hundred feet, rolled left and crashed in flames. An asphalt-coated object had jammed the right elevator; the NTSB said the captain should have rejected the take-off.Type: System failureASN record | |
| Flying Tiger LineDC-8-63AF · 0,7 km off Okinawa-Naha AFB (AHA), Japan | 4 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. On a cargo flight bound for Vietnam, the DC-8 flew a radar-guided approach to Naha in heavy rain and low cloud. Slightly low and with a tailwind, it kept sinking past decision height while the crew looked outside, and hit the sea well short of the runway.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Air CanadaDC-8-54F · 0,6 km SE of Ottawa International Airport, ON (YOW), Canada | 3 / 3 on board | Training flight. On a conversion training flight with engines throttled back for a practice asymmetric landing, the DC-8 yawed and rolled right and hit the ground inverted short of the runway. A worn rudder check valve had locked the rudder, with no warning to the crew.Type: System failureASN record | |
| Delta Air Lines DL9877DC-8-51 · New Orleans, LA, United States of America | 6 / 6 on board | Training flight. On a night training flight with a captain trainee, the crew flew a practice approach with two engines out. The bank grew to 60 degrees or more, the DC-8 hit power lines and crashed into homes and a motel, killing 13 on the ground. Poor supervision by the instructor was cited.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Aeronaves de MéxicoDC-8-51 · 33 km from Acapulco, Mexico | 6 / 6 on board | Training flight. On a night training flight out of Acapulco, the crew let the DC-8 descend below the minimum altitude during a procedure turn and it hit the ground about 33 km from the airport.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Air New ZealandDC-8-52 · Auckland International Airport (AKL), New Zealand | 2 / 5 on board | Training flight. On a training flight the instructor cut the right outer engine on take-off so fast that its lever dropped into reverse idle. The DC-8 rotated steeply, rolled right and a wingtip hit the grass; the reverse thrust was spotted too late to recover.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record |
The Douglas DC-8 no longer carries passengers, and its record is that of the first jet age. Up to 7 October 2026 it has 51 fatal events in our data. 25 count, in about 24 million passenger flights, and 22 of those happened before 1980; the last counted accident was in 1991. It is compared with the Boeing 707, its direct rival, whose record is much the same.
What the DC-8 is
The DC-8 was Douglas's answer to the 707: four engines on pylons under a swept wing, an analogue cockpit and a flight engineer. It first flew in 1958 and entered service in 1959. Douglas built 556. The early -10 to -50 series were followed in the late 1960s by the stretched Super Sixty (-61, -62, -63). In the early 1980s many -60s were re-engined with quieter CFM56 turbofans and became the -70 series.
United, Delta, Trans-Canada (later Air Canada), KLM, SAS, Swissair, Japan Air Lines and Alitalia flew it on their first jet routes. Most DC-8s ended their lives as freighters. Only five are still flying, none of them carrying fare-paying passengers.
Learning to fly jets
Several early crashes came from crews and systems still new to jets. On 16 December 1960 a United DC-8 overshot its clearance limit and hit a TWA Constellation over New York; all 84 on the DC-8 died. In November 1963 a Trans-Canada DC-8 dived into the ground after leaving Montreal (118 dead), and three months later Eastern 304 fell into Lake Pontchartrain (58). Investigators linked both to abnormal pitch trim. In 1970 an Air Canada first officer deployed the ground spoilers about 60 ft above the runway instead of arming them; the jet hit the runway, went around on fire and crashed, killing all 109.
Into high ground
Ten counted accidents were flights into terrain or water under control. The deadliest was Martinair 138 in 1974, carrying Hajj pilgrims, which hit a mountain in Sri Lanka after the crew misjudged their position (191). Four years later a Loftleidir DC-8 flying for Garuda came down short of Colombo at night (183). In 1989 Surinam Airways 764 crashed in fog at Paramaribo, flown by a captain over the age limit on an approach not approved for use (176).
Fuel, ice and fire
- 28 December 1978, United 173: the crew circled near Portland for about an hour over a landing gear problem until the engines ran dry; 10 of 189 died.
- 12 December 1985, Arrow Air: a charter carrying US troops home stalled after take-off from Gander, killing all 256. The board majority blamed wing ice; four members dissented.
- 11 July 1991, Nigeria Airways: tyre fire after take-off from Jeddah, 261 dead, the worst DC-8 accident.
What is left out
Three acts of unlawful interference are listed but not counted: the bombing of a Cubana DC-8 off Barbados in 1976, which killed all 73, and two events with one death each. Japan Air Lines 350 is left out too: in 1982 its captain, who was mentally ill, deliberately engaged reverse thrust on approach to Haneda, and 24 of 174 died. The other 22 are cargo, training, ferry and test crashes, the last an Emery Worldwide freighter near Sacramento in 2000. Our methodology explains why.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show DC85, DC86 or DC87. Four engines in pods under the wing and a very long, slim body set the -60 and -70 apart. Today you are only likely to see one on a cargo ramp.
Questions people ask
Can you still fly on a DC-8?
Not as a passenger on a normal airline. The last DC-8s in airline service were freighters, and only a handful of the 556 built still fly, on cargo and special missions. The type left scheduled passenger service decades ago.
What was the worst DC-8 crash?
On 11 July 1991 a DC-8 leased by Nigeria Airways from Nationair caught fire after take-off from Jeddah with Hajj pilgrims on board. Under-inflated tyres had failed on the take-off roll and burning rubber was retracted into the wheel well. All 261 people on board died.
Is the DC-8 the same as the DC-9 or DC-10?
No. The DC-8 is Douglas's four-engine long-haul jet of 1959. The DC-9 is a smaller twin with engines at the tail, and the DC-10 a three-engine widebody. Each has its own page and record.
Was the DC-8 less safe than the Boeing 707?
Their records are similar. Both are first-generation jets that flew when navigation aids, terrain warnings and crew training were far weaker than today, and both had most of their fatal accidents in the 1960s and 1970s.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Trans-Canada Air Lines DC-8, Ste-Thérèse, 29 November 1963 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Martinair flight MP138, Maskeliya, 4 December 1974 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: United Airlines flight UA173, Portland, 28 December 1978 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Arrow Air DC-8, Gander, 12 December 1985 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.ASN record: Nigeria Airways DC-8 (Nationair), Jeddah, 11 July 1991 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 6.ASN record: Cubana DC-8 bombing off Barbados, 6 October 1976 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 7.ASN record: Japan Air Lines flight JL350, Tokyo-Haneda, 9 February 1982 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 8.SafetyScorer fleet model (World Bank departures, OpenSky averages) (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 1959 to 7 October 2026 from a fleet model: deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 30 years and about 1,599 departures per aircraft per year (average of similar types in OpenSky). OpenSky sees too few of these aircraft because they were retired before 2019. Uncertainty roughly ±50%.
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