MD80s seen as 'safe short-haul workhorses'

London: Since coming into service in 1981, the MD80 series of aircraft has been involved in 11 fatal crashes.

Last year, the US Federal Aviation Authority ordered American Airlines to ground its 300-strong fleet of the aircraft to inspect their hydraulic wiring.

Of the 11 fatal crashes, two are understood not to have involved any potential failure in the aircraft itself.

One was attributed to an air traffic control misunderstanding and the other to a passenger lighting a fire on the plane.

The most recent accident involving a version of the plane happened last November when 54 people were killed in a crash in Turkey. The cause remains unknown. Two months previously an MD82 crashed while trying to land in heavy rain and wind at Phuket Airport, Thailand.

Poor maintenance

Other crashes include an Alaska Airlines flight which crashed into the Pacific in January 2000 killing 88 people. Investigators blamed poor maintenance of the aircraft.

A year previously, an American Airlines plane overshot the runway in poor weather at Little Rock, Arkansas, and 11 people were killed.

In 1987 an MD82 crashed shortly after take-off in Detroit. The crew had failed to carry out standard safety procedures.

Despite the crashes the MD80 series of short-haul planes is regarded by aviation experts as being "among the safest".

The nine crashes which did not involve problems aboard the aircraft have taken place against a background of 20 million flights. This compares favourably with the Boeing 737, which has had 47 incidents in which at least one passenger has died out of 76 million flights.

"The MD80 series is a short-haul workhorse, similar to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320," said a pilot.