McDonnell Douglas DC-10

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body airliner built by McDonnell Douglas at Long Beach, California. Intended to succeed the DC-8 on long-range routes, it first flew on 29 August 1970 and entered service with American Airlines on 5 August 1971. It is known for its cargo-door and engine-pylon failures of the 1970s, which produced Turkish Airlines Flight 981 and American Airlines Flight 191, and for the KC-10 Extender tanker derivative.

Development

Douglas began design studies from its unsuccessful 1965 CX-HLS submission, then reworked them around a 1966 American Airlines specification for a wide-body smaller than the Boeing 747 able to fly long routes from short runways. An early four-engine double-deck proposal seating 550 was dropped for a single-deck trijet seating up to 399. Fuselage detail design was subcontracted to Convair, which was contractually barred from contacting the FAA over safety concerns. American Airlines ordered 25 aircraft in February 1968 and United 30 with 30 options. Flight testing covered 929 flights and 1,551 hours; the type certificate was issued on 29 July 1971. Production ended in December 1988, the 446th aircraft going to Nigeria Airways in July 1989: 386 airliners and 60 KC-10s. The MD-11 was a stretched derivative of the DC-10-30.

Design

The DC-10 is a low-wing aircraft with two underwing pylon-mounted turbofans and a third in a banjo structure at the base of the fin. Engines were General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D. Controls comprise inboard and outboard ailerons, two-section elevators and rudder, leading-edge slats, spoilers and a dual-rate movable stabiliser, actuated by three hydraulic systems with no manual reversion. The -30 and -40 added a two-wheel centreline main gear. The aircraft could take off and land under autopilot, with flight plans loaded from cassette tape. The original three-crew cockpit was replaced on MD-10 conversions by the Advanced Common Flightdeck using Honeywell VIA displays shared with the Boeing 717, giving common type rating with the MD-11.

Operational History

Northwest Airlines withdrew the last major-carrier passenger DC-10 on 8 January 2007; Biman Bangladesh Airlines flew the final commercial passenger service from Dhaka to Birmingham on 20 February 2014. As of February 2025 the type had 55 accidents and incidents, 32 hull losses and 1,261 occupant fatalities. The FAA withdrew the type certificate on 6 June 1979 after Flight 191, reinstating it on 13 July following slat and stall-warning modifications. United Airlines Flight 232 in 1989 led to hydraulic fuses in the No. 3 system. A November 2025 emergency airworthiness directive grounded the fleet after the UPS Flight 2976 MD-11 crash; it was lifted on 11 May 2026. Ten aircraft were airworthy in December 2024, with 10 Tanker Air Carrier, Omega Aerial Refueling Services, TAB, Cargo Three and Orbis International.

Variants

• DC-10-10: Initial domestic version with CF6-6 engines, 122 built between 1970 and 1981.
• DC-10-15: Hot-and-high variant with CF6-50C2F engines, seven built 1981–1983 for Mexicana and Aeroméxico.
• DC-10-30: Long-range model with CF6-50 engines, larger wingspan and centre gear; 163 built for 38 customers.
• DC-10-40: JT9D-powered long-range version for Northwest Orient and Japan Airlines, 42 built 1973–1983.
• KC-10 Extender: USAF aerial refuelling tanker based on the DC-10-30CF, 60 delivered 1981–1988.