BD MD-87 LLC· ICAO24 a9a863· last seen Jan 2026

N721MN is a Boeing-Mcdonnell Douglas Boeing (Douglas) MD 87, a twin-engine jet operated by BD MD-87 LLC. SkyMeter has tracked 42 flights totalling 109 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 3 callsigns. The most frequent segment is KSFB to KHPN. Service window in our records spans 230 days. Of those flights, 2 (4.8%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Boeing-Mcdonnell Douglas Boeing (Douglas) MD 87 has a 108 ft wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 149,500 lb.

About the Boeing-Mcdonnell Douglas Boeing (Douglas) MD 87

The McDonnell Douglas MD-87 is the shortest member of the MD-80 family, a stretched derivative of the DC-9 that dominated short-haul jet operations in the 1980s and 1990s. Introduced in 1987, the MD-87 was designed for airlines needing DC-9 capacity with MD-80 efficiency on routes where the standard MD-80's 147-foot fuselage was too large. McDonnell Douglas shortened the airframe by 17 feet, reducing typical seating from 155 to around 130 passengers while retaining the family's distinctive rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans and T-tail configuration.

The MD-87 found its niche with carriers operating dense regional networks and those requiring hot-and-high performance that the DC-9-30 couldn't match. Its reduced weight (maximum takeoff of 140,000 pounds versus 160,000 for the MD-88) gave it better field performance from shorter runways while maintaining the MD-80's 2,500-nautical-mile range. The type's Mach 0.84 cruise capability and 37,000-foot service ceiling made it competitive with early 737 Classics on transcontinental routes, though only 75 were built before production ended in 1992, making it the rarest of the MD-80 variants.

Today the MD-87 is largely retired from major airline service, with most examples either scrapped or converted to corporate and charter configurations. The type's JT8D engines, while reliable, became increasingly uneconomical as fuel prices rose and Stage 4 noise regulations tightened. A handful remain active in specialized roles, particularly with charter operators and private carriers who value the spacious cabin and transcontinental range for executive transport and sports team charters. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.

FLIGHTS
42
all time
FLOWN HOURS
109
tracked time
📍
AIRPORTS VISITED
12
unique
📡
CALLSIGNS
3
18 routes
📅
SERVICE PERIOD
06/08/2025 → 01/24/2026
first → last
INCIDENT RATE
4.8%
2 flagged

Top routes

By flight count

10
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Flight numbers

Most-flown by this airframe

3

Aircraft specifications

Boeing-Mcdonnell Douglas Boeing (Douglas) MD 87

Engines
Twin Jet
Vref (approach)
134 kt
Vmo
340 kt
MTOW
149,500 lb
Wingspan
108 ft
Length
130 ft
Wake category
Medium

Recent flights

Newest 27 operations of N721MN

27
01/15/2026
1h 54m
△ Low approach-stability score
© SkyMeter · All flight data subject to ODbL attribution