Another aircraft retirement took place recently as UPS operated its final DC-8 flight into Louisville, KY Tuesday morning, receiving a 'water cannon salute' from fire trucks. Last month, UPS decided to accelerate the retirement of its 44-strong DC-8 fleet as a cost-cutting measure; originally, the planes were due to be phased out by 2013. Most of the airline's DC-8s were around 40 years old, and it will certainly sad to see the type go. DC-8s have been absent from scheduled passenger aviation in the US for almost twenty years now; generally speaking, many older types of planes (DC-10s, 727s) often find new lives hauling packages after they're through hauling passengers.