Watch This MD-80 "Mad Dog" Cargo Jet Make A Crazy Zoom Climb Out Of The Bahamas – The Drive

The MD-80 series of airliners, often referred to lovingly by their nickname "Mad Dog," are disappearing from our skies at an alarming rate. No major carrier in the U.S. flies them today, with American retiring the type in 2019. Surplus MD-80s are now scattered around the globe in small groups, some still carrying humans and others hauling cargo, but it's safe to say that the type is deep into the twilight of its career. One famous airline that is based in Alaska, Everts Air Cargo, known for its eclectic fleet, which includes antique piston-engined airliner types, and that flies into some very tight and rough wilderness locales, operates the MD-80s in cargo-carrying configurations. In fact, they were the first to receive a cargo-converted Mad Dog. One of these aircraft, N963CE, popped up very far from its home recently and put on one hell of a show when it went on its merry way.

The video comes to us from the appropriately named YouTuber CameronMD80. The video was shot at Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas last week. It was there that the seemingly out-of-place aircraft was found and filmed. Here is the aviation videographer's description of his rare catch:

I would have never expected this visit and I definitely would have never expected their takeoffs to go down the way they did. It's been a while since I've seen an MD80 locally. The last time I got to enjoy them was in November 2019 when Delta sent theirs for the last time. A private MD came a few months later but that doesn't really count in my eyes as it happened at night while I was home; although that is the last time that I can recall that an MD came to Nassau.

Fast forward to these past few days. We got two unexpected visits from an "airline" that seems quite far from home with a crew that was very antsy to show off what an empty Maddog can do. If this is the last time I see an MD80 locally, I definitely can't complain.

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Watch This MD-80 "Mad Dog" Cargo Jet Make A Crazy Zoom Climb Out Of The Bahamas - The Drive