McDonnell Douglas MD-90

MD-90
An MD-90 of Delta Air Lines, both its launch customer and final operator
General information
TypeNarrow-body jet airliner
National originUnited States
ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (from Aug. 1997)
Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company (under license)
StatusRetired (commercial use)
Primary usersDelta Air Lines (historical)
Saudi Arabian Airlines (historical)
Japan Airlines (historical)
NASA (X-66)
Number built116
History
Manufactured1993–2000
Introduction date1995 with Delta Air Lines
First flightFebruary 22, 1993
RetiredJune 2, 2020 (commercially)
Developed fromMcDonnell Douglas MD-80
VariantsMcDonnell Douglas MD-94X
Boeing 717 (MD-95)
Developed intoBoeing X-66

The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is a retired 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 NASA X-66 program. It was involved in three hull-loss accidents with only one fatality being a fire related or non-aeronautical accident.