The Last U.S.-Registered Douglas DC-8 Finds a Home

A remarkable chapter in aviation came to a close in November 2025, as the final U.S.-registered Douglas DC-8 in revenue service made its last mission. The aircraft, operated by humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse (registration N782SP), completed its 219th and final flight delivering aid supplies to Jamaica — and then flew on to a permanent resting place in Virginia, where it will be preserved for posterity.

After decades of service — with multiple airlines, conversions, and a second life with Samaritan’s Purse — the DC-8’s story has ended not in the scrapyard, but on public display. For aviation enthusiasts, that matters. It means there’s still a chance to visit a real piece of jet-age history.

The Long, Storied Life of N782SP

Samaritan’s Purse DC-8

N782SP isn’t just any DC-8 — it’s a veteran of multiple eras of aviation. The airframe rolled off the production line on December 24, 1968, originally built for a European carrier. Over the years it served in various roles: from commercial airline passenger service, to military or freight use, before eventually reaching a storage graveyard in Roswell, New Mexico.

In 2015, Samaritan’s Purse acquired the aircraft and embarked on a major overhaul including re-engining. Rather than letting it fade into history, the charity resurrected it as a heavy-lift cargo aircraft capable of delivering emergency supplies, medical teams, and relief shipments around the world.

Between 2016 and 2025, the DC-8 — affectionately nicknamed “The Mighty DC-8” by Samaritan’s Purse crews — flew 217 humanitarian missions, delivering more than 9.2 million pounds of aid in cargo including emergency field hospitals, food, medical supplies, and disaster relief material.

It also earned affection among aviation enthusiasts and spotters — wherever it landed, photographers often lined fences and ramps to catch a glimpse of one of the last classic four-engine jets still working.

The Final Flight and the Decision to Preserve

On November 14, 2025, Samaritan’s Purse held a decommissioning ceremony at its Airlift Response Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The DC-8 was formally retired — not to vanish forever, but to begin a new chapter.

Rather than dismantling the jet, Samaritan’s Purse confirmed that N782SP will be donated to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia — home to a large faith-based aviation program. The aircraft will become a static display, preserving its legacy and offering future generations a chance to see a real DC-8 up close.

With that decision, the DC-8 avoids the scrapyard — a fate all too common for classic jets — and becomes one of the few preserved survivors of a generation of jetliners that once filled global skies.

A New Era — and a New Workhorse

The retirement of the DC-8 doesn’t mean the end of Samaritan’s Purse’s airlift capability. On the same day, the organisation formally introduced a brand-new Boeing 767-300F into its fleet.

The 767 promises enhanced capacity, modern systems, and greater efficiency — allowing the charity to respond faster and carry larger payloads than ever before. For example, it has already flown large-scale missions, including delivering a fully equipped emergency field hospital to Jamaica in a single flight, something that previously required multiple DC-8 rotations.

Samaritan’s Purse also continues to operate a Boeing 757 in its fleet, but the 767 will now shoulder the bulk of heavy-lift and long-range humanitarian work.

Why Preservation Matters

For plane spotters, aviation historians, and enthusiasts, this decision to preserve the DC-8 is significant.

• It ensures that one of the last U.S.-registered flying DC-8s survives intact — a living artefact of the early jet age.

• It gives future generations a chance to see and learn from a four-engine classic, with physical access rather than archive photos or museum models.

• It honours the legacy of humanitarian aviation — a reminder that many jets are more than machines; they carry hope, relief, and human stories across continents.

The retirement of N782SP also marks the end of a commercial and humanitarian chapter for the DC-8 family, which by 2025 was already down to only a handful of airframes worldwide.

A Bittersweet Farewell, but an Optimistic Future

The final engines have spun down, and the DC-8’s last cargo has been delivered. But in rather than disappearing forever, the jet’s story continues — albeit grounded, repurposed, and enshrined as a symbol of aviation’s enduring legacy.

For those who logged campaigns to photograph it, followed its missions around the world, or simply admired its classic lines and four-engine roar — this is not the end.

It’s a new chapter. A chapter that ensures the Mighty DC-8 remains part of aviation’s heritage — preserved, respected, and remembered.