It would become McDonnell Douglas's first commercial airliner after the merger between McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. In 1966, American Airlines offered a specification to manufacturers for a widebody aircraft that was smaller than the Boeing 747 yet capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways this specification would be highly influential in the design of what would become the DC-10. Fielder note that the company was under competitive pressure to produce a widebody aircraft, having been somewhat slow in the previous decade to introduce its first jetliners. The 3-4-3 (left) and 2-5-2 (right) seating configurationįollowing an unsuccessful proposal for the United States Air Force's CX-HLS (Heavy Logistics System) in 1965, Douglas Aircraft began design studies based on its CX-HLS submission. Some DC-10s are on display, while other retired aircraft are in storage. A few DC-10s have been converted for aerial firefighting use. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a DC-10 adapted for eye surgery. Cargo airlines continue to operate a small number as freighters. In February 2014, the DC-10 made its last commercial passenger flight. It was succeeded by the lengthened, heavier McDonnell Douglas MD-11.Īfter merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, Boeing upgraded many in-service DC-10s as the MD-10 with a glass cockpit that eliminated the need for a flight engineer. The DC-10 had outsold the similar Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. Production ended in 1989, with 386 delivered to airlines along with 60 KC-10 tankers. As design flaws were rectified and fleet hours increased, the DC-10 achieved a long term safety record that was comparable to similar era passenger jets. In August 1983, McDonnell Douglas announced that production would end due to a lack of orders, as it had a widespread public apprehension after the 1979 crash and a poor fuel economy reputation. Following the American Airlines Flight 191 crash (the deadliest aviation accident in US history), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily banned all DC-10s from U.S. The KC-10 Extender (based on the DC-10-30) is a tanker aircraft operated primarily by the United States Air Force.Įarly operations of the DC-10 were afflicted by its poor safety record, which was partially attributable to a design flaw in the original cargo doors that caused multiple incidents, including fatalities. The DC-10-30 and −40 models (with a third main landing gear leg to support higher weights) each had intercontinental ranges of up to 5,200 nmi (9,600 km). The DC-10-15 had more powerful engines for hot and high airports. The initial DC-10-10 had a 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) range for transcontinental flights. The twin-aisle layout has a typical seating for 270 in two classes. The trijet has two turbofans on underwing pylons and a third one at the base of the vertical stabilizer. It first flew on Augit was introduced on August 5, 1971, by American Airlines. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
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