Aircraft regarded as second safest plane in the skies

THE MD-82 plane that crashed in Madrid is part of the MD 80 series commonly seen in Irish airports. The aircraft series is regarded by industry watchers as having a good safety record.

AirDisaster.com ranks the MD-80 series as the second safest plane in the skies. It also lists 18 significant accidents involving the model since its introduction.

The mid-range, two-engine, one-aisle jet, built by McDonnell Douglas of Long Beach, California, was introduced in 1980. Nearly 1,200 were built until production ceased in 1999, after McDonnell Douglas’ merger with Boeing.

MD-80 series aircraft carry up to 172 passengers, depending on seat configuration, and require a minimum crew of two pilots and four cabin staff.

Spanair has 36 in its 65-aircraft fleet.

Spanair has not suffered a fatal accident since being formed in 1986, although the Aviation Safety Network website lists an incident in May 2001 when the landing gear of an MD-83, carrying 57 passengers and crew, failed on touchdown at Liverpool International.

Other incidents involving the MD-80 series include:

* March/April 2008: A safety audit of American Airlines forced the airline to ground its entire MD-80 series fleet. Almost 6000 flights were cancelled as hydraulic wiring was checked.

Delta Airlines also cancelled 275 flights after inspecting their MD-80s.

Here are some of the recorded incidents involving the MD-80 series. Almost 400 people have been killed in the past five years.

* November 30, 2007 — MD-83 Atlasjet Flight 4203 crashed in south-western Turkey, killing all 57 passengers.

* September 28, 2007 — MD-80 Flight 1400 heading for Chicago landed safely after the left engine caught fire.

* September 16, 2007 — MD-82 One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 crashed at the side of the runway and exploded at Phuket airport. More than 80 killed.

* August 16, 2005 — MD-82 West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashed in Venezuela killing all 152 passengers and 8 crew.

* November 30, 2004 — MD-82 crash-landed in Surakarta, killing at least 25.

* May 7, 2002 — MD-82 China Northern airlines flight from Beijing to Dalian crashed, killing 111.

* October 8, 2001 — MD-87 collided with a Cessna jet during take-off at Linate Airport, Milan. 118 were killed.

* January 31, 2000 — MD-83 crashed in the Pacific Ocean. 88 killed.

* June 1, 1999 — MD-82 American Airlines flight overshot runway. 11 died.

* June 7, 1996 — MD-88 Delta Airlines crash. Two were killed.

Spanair factfile

* Spanair SA is an airline based in Palma de Mallorca, mainly serving the tourism markets — including routes from Ireland to Spanish resorts.

* What services does Spanair provide? Short-haul flights between Ireland and Spain.

* Which of Ireland’s airports is serviced by Spanair? Dublin Airport.

* What international airports does Spanair connect to? Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Malaga.

* Spanair’s fleet — what planes can you expect? A mixed fleet of Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas planes.