On May 20, 2025, an ex-TWA and American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 left Roswell desert, destined for Kyrgyzstan, to return to commercial service for the first time in almost 6 years.
First registered as N984TW, this 25-year-old aircraft is special as it was the very last MD-80 to roll off the production line. First delivered in 1999 under line number 2257, the T-tail flew for TWA for less than two years before taking on the American Airlines name when the two carriers merged in December 2001.
N984TW would stay with American for almost 18 years before being withdrawn from use in September 2019. After undergoing restorative works, N984TW took to the skies again in January 2025, and it was later revealed that it would join Kyrgyzstan operator, TezJet.
Soon to be registered “EX-80017”, TezJet’s latest MD-80 acquisition spent the last few days being ferried from Roswell (ROW), New Mexico to Bishkek (FRU), Kyrgyzstan. The aircraft made stops in Goose Bay (YYR), Prestwick (PIK) and Varna (VAR), before reaching its final destination on May 22, 2025.
Besides this addition, TezJet operates a 29-year-old MD-83 which previously flew a number of carriers including Korean Air, Jetsgo and Allegiant Air. They also operate two British Aerospace Avro RJ85, both of which are just over 28-years-old each.
Sometimes called the “Super 80”, the MD-80 was most popularly referred to as the “Mad Dog”, not only because it was derived from the words “McDonnell Douglas”, but because of its unique quirks and design features not common to other aircraft.
The MD-80 was also a “dumb smart” aircraft, meaning it would do exactly what you told it to do. Unfortunately, this meant it could put pilots in very precarious situations due to incorrect data or a bad setup, unlike other newer aircraft which have a plethora of fallback safety protections.
Derived from the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family, 1,191 units were delivered between 1980 and 1999 split across the MD-81, -82, -83, -87 and -88. Besides the MD-87, the rest of the MD-80 line shares the same fuselage design and length, with the only major differences being engine performance, fuel capacity and flight deck avionics.
What’s most interesting is that a number of MD-82s were later retrofitted with the appropriate equipment and re-certified as either MD-83s or MD-88s.
To this day, several MD-80s remain in service, primarily in countries like Venezuela and Iran. Airlines in these regions continue to rely on older aircraft due to economic challenges and international sanctions that hinder the purchase of newer models.
