| MD-90 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) An MD-90 of Delta Air Lines, both its launch customer and final operator | |
| General information | |
| Type | Narrow-body jet airliner |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas Boeing Commercial Airplanes (from Aug. 1997) Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company (under license) |
| Status | Retired[citation needed] |
| Primary users | Delta Air Lines (historical) |
| Number built | 116[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1993–2000 |
| Introduction date | 1995 with Delta Air Lines |
| First flight | February 22, 1993 |
| Retired | June 2, 2020 |
| Developed from | McDonnell Douglas MD-80 |
| Variants | McDonnell Douglas MD-94X Boeing 717 (MD-95) |
| Developed into | Boeing X-66 |
The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was a stretched derivative of the MD-80 and thus part of the DC-9 family. After the more fuel-efficient IAE V2500 high-bypass turbofan was selected, Delta Air Lines became the launch customer on November 14, 1989. The MD-90 first flew on February 22, 1993, and the first delivery was in February 1995 to Delta.
The MD-90 competed with the Airbus A320ceo family and the Boeing 737 Next Generation. Its 5 ft (1.4 m) longer fuselage seats 153 passengers in a mixed configuration over up to 2,455 nautical miles [nmi] (4,547 km; 2,825 mi), making it the largest member of the DC-9 family. It kept the MD-88's electronic flight instrument system (EFIS). The shrunken derivative of MD-80 or shorter variant of MD-90, originally marketed as MD-95, was later renamed the Boeing 717 following McDonnell Douglas' merger with Boeing in 1997. Production ended in 2000 after 116 deliveries. Delta Air Lines flew the final MD-90 passenger flight on June 2, 2020. It was briefly retired before being put into testing with Boeing Commercial Airplanes for the X-66A program. It was involved in three hull-loss accidents with only one fatality being a fire related or non-aeronautical accident.