A Tribute to the DC-8

A Samaritan’s Purse flight engineer reflects on the legend and legacy of a one-of-a-kind aircraft that flew in Jesus’ Name.

My name is Joe Proffitt and I have had the honor and privilege to be a flight engineer aboard this beautiful aircraft, the Mighty DC-8, for the past five and a half years. McDonnell Douglas produced 554 DC-8s. Samaritan’s Purse was blessed to operate the last one registered in the United States.

The DC-8 aircraft helped Samaritan’s Purse transport life-saving supplies and food, among many other relief items and equipment, to hurting people around the world in Jesus’ Name for nearly 10 years.

In 2014, during the Ebola crisis, God gave Franklin Graham the vision of establishing a heavy airlift arm for Samaritan’s Purse that could provide critical relief supplies to hurting people anywhere in the world. After much prayer, God led Samaritan’s Purse to this particular jet which was sitting in the desert in Roswell, New Mexico, a place where aircraft typically go to become bird sanctuaries.

Of the 554 aircraft manufactured, ours was number 427, rolling off the assembly line on December 24, 1968. She has served with distinction for almost 57 years. Initially delivered to Finnair, it was sold in 1981 to the French Air Force and later converted from a 62 model to a 72 model, by replacing the Pratt and Whitney JT-3D engines with the more fuel-efficient CFM-56 engines.

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham saw the need to grow the ministry’s aircraft stock after our response to the Ebola virus outbreak in Liberia in 2014. The DC-8 was a staple in our relief efforts ever since acquiring the aircraft in 2015.

Around 2004, Air Transport International, at that time based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, was looking for an aircraft that would support their Civilian Reserve Air Fleet mission of transporting military cargo and personnel. In 2005, ATI purchased this aircraft, along with three other DC-8s, modifying them to carry 10 pallets of cargo as well as 32 passengers—thus the term “combi” aircraft was coined.

In 2015, Samaritan’s Purse purchased #427, and after an extensive overhaul in San Antonio, Texas, this beautiful aircraft was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It flew its first international mission, commanded by Captain George Kalbfleisch, to Ecuador, providing relief supplies for thousands of people affected by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake by airlifting an Emergency Field Hospital as well as doctors, nurses, and medical supplies in the Name and love of Jesus.

In its first ever mission with Samaritan’s Purse in 2016, the DC-8 carried our Emergency Field Hospital and tons of life-saving supplies to earthquake victims in Ecuador.

To the Mission Aviation Services staff in Greensboro this is a very special aircraft because there is not another one like it in the world! We like to refer to her as “The Mighty DC-8,” as she has been the backbone and workhorse for the Samaritan’s Purse International Relief ministry, carrying more than 9 million pounds of cargo on 217 missions since 2016—all in the Name of Jesus.

Over the years, I’ve flown as an engineer on many DC-8s. When I started flying aboard this jet, I quickly realized how very special this particular aircraft is to aviation enthusiasts. Frequently “the 8” is met by throngs of photographers, called airplane spotters, who line runway fences, waiting to snap pictures of the legendary DC-8 landing, taking off, or just taxiing on the tarmac.

With a cross on the tail and “Helping in Jesus Name” stenciled below the cockpit, there is no doubt wherever we go, Who we serve.

“Helping in Jesus’ Name” was the goal of each of the DC-8’s 217 missions with Samaritan’s Purse.

During one of our recent trips through Cypress, several control tower operators along with a gentleman who was compiling a documentary on the DC-8, met us on the tarmac in order to photograph the aircraft and crew. With the permission of Captain Andy Klischer, they came onboard and were in awe of the classic throwback flight deck from a bygone era. The gentleman documenting the DC-8 remarked and I quote, “Now this is a real aircraft! See that airplane that just took off? Nothing but plastic. The DC-8 even smells like a real aircraft!”

On another occasion, several journalists from Munich, Germany, who are doing a story on our DC-8, flew from Munich to Cypress just for the day in order to photograph and observe this legend in aviation.

Of course, the Mighty DC-8 could not do what it does without the attention and care given to it by our highly professional, skilled maintenance team led by Jeff Graham. The flight crews have the utmost respect and confidence that the aircraft, despite her age, has always been safe for flight before each mission. Thank you, DC-8 mechanics!

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the DC-8 transported especially precious cargo back home: little Mongolian children, who’d just received life-saving surgery through our Children Heart Project ministry, and their families.

Needless to say, I will miss this ‘ole bird. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience to fly with some of the best DC-8 pilots, loadmasters, and flight attendants, crisscrossing the globe on often challenging and sometimes grueling flights while proclaiming the Good News of Jesus! It has truly been an honor.

Of my 50-plus missions, two of the most memorable include returning young children who received heart operations in the U.S.—along with their mothers—to Mongolia during the COVID pandemic in 2020. Another is being part of the crew that delivered the 200 millionth shoebox to Poland and meeting the young lady who would escort it the rest of the way to her native country of Ukraine where she once, as an orphan herself, received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

The 200 millionth Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift arrived in Poland via the DC-8 aircraft in 2022, and eventually made its way to the arms of a little girl displaced by war in Ukraine.

I’m sure you have heard the expression, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts.” Well, the Mighty DC-8 has finished strong supporting God’s people in Israel and providing critical supplies to Jamaica. These are appropriate legacy missions as we bid her farewell.

After Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica in late October, the DC-8 transported relief supplies and disaster assistance specialists to the Caribbean island in what was its last mission for Samaritan’s Purse.

It is my belief this DC-8 has been in God’s plan from its inception. Born on Christmas Eve and resurrected from a desert graveyard, the Mighty DC-8 has been His instrument taking the Gospel message of Jesus Christ throughout the world providing physical relief and spiritual hope to millions of people wherever it touched down.

Farewell N782SP … it is bittersweet to say, “Goodbye.”

Thanks for the memories that will continue to live on in our hearts.

As the iconic DC-8 aircraft is decommissioned, we thank God for the ways he used the mighty plane to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.