The Lowdown on Current Passenger Jets
Aviation's Geriatric Aircraft
- DC-9; Series 10,20,30,40,50
All of these are aging aircraft, having been built in the 60's and 70's. There are many in service and many retrofitted to serve well into the next century. You can't avoid them all, so stick with the reputable carriers that are retrofitting their DC-9s to meet or exceed current standards, such as Northwest Airlines.
- DC-10; Series 10,30,40
This plane had trouble a few years ago when it was discovered that a flawed design for metal welds in its engine caused an engine to fall off in mid-flight. The NTSB found the bad welds in more than 200 DC-10 engines. The manufacturer fixed the flaw. DC-10's are no longer built, and the ones still in service are very old. Some DC-10-10's and -30's are among the oldest planes still flying at 25-30 years old.
- Boeing 727; Series 100,200
Built for over 30 years (ending in '84), this plane can be very old. Aim for the well maintained fleets with younger 727's.
- Boeing 737; Series 100,200
The most widely used jet in the US, the plane is alleged to have difficulty with its rudder design, resulting in two accidents that to date the NTSB believes were caused by jamming of the rudder. The mysterious flaw may have also caused hundreds of mishaps, including eleven crashes overseas. Yet the FAA persists in denying that the test conditions in which the rudders failed could happen in real life. Avoid the older 737's and avoid all but reputable carriers' 737's until rudder fixes are made. Southwest Airlines, months ahead of the government directive, announced it would make changes immediately and seek other remedies, such as additional training and procedures for its pilots. However, not all 737's are old. The -300,-400,-500 series are now in production. The -600,-700 and -800 series will be in production through 2015.
- Boeing 747; Series 100,200,400
As crash statistics go, the 747 has a split personality. The older models have a worse crash record than the industry average. The newer model -400 has a much better record than the industry average. The 747 is still in production and will be for some time to come, so unlike the 727, not all 747's are old. Some are brand new. The 747 is a very reliable workhorse of international fleets. The NTSB thinks something is terribly wrong with certain older models of the 747 (fuel tanks aka: TWA flight 800). New 747's will have insulation between heat sources and fuel tanks. Older 747's must be inspected for cracks in the center fuel tank and for problems with some electrical switches that could cause fires.
- Lockheed L-1011
About 25-30 years old, this plane is being phased out of major passenger airline service. With the DC-10, their past troubles made a lot of people wary of flying them (myself included). The only major US airlines still flying the L-1011 are Delta and TWA. Rich International also flies them. Since the latter also has a record of installing bogus parts, its L1011's should be avoided at all costs.
