DC10

The DC-10 is a three-engine wide-body airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas and first flown in 1970, entering service in 1971. It was designed as a larger, longer-range counterpart to the two-engine wide-body aircraft of the era and competed with the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. The aircraft uses a three-engine configuration with two underwing engines and a third mounted in the tail, a layout chosen to provide additional takeoff performance and payload flexibility.

Development and design: The DC-10 was conceived in the 1960s to meet demand for mid- to long-range routes with high payloads. The initial DC-10-10 was followed by the DC-10-30, which offered greater range and payload through a longer fuselage and more powerful engines. The design emphasized cargo capacity and maintenance efficiency, and the DC-10 family also found use as a freighter, including conversions and dedicated cargo variants.

Operational history and variants: The DC-10 saw extensive service with many passenger and cargo operators around the world through the 1970s–1990s. It formed the basis for later developments and influenced the design of its successor, the MD-11, which introduced further improvements in avionics, engines, and aerodynamics. Production and sales gradually declined as newer aircraft entered service, and most passenger DC-10s were retired in the 1990s, with some remaining in cargo service into the 2000s and 2010s.

Safety and legacy: The DC-10 experienced several notable accidents, including the Turkish Airlines Flight 981 cargo-door failure in 1974 and the American Airlines Flight 191 engine-pylon incident in 1979, which led to changes in maintenance practices and design reinforcements. The United Airlines Flight 232 incident in 1989 demonstrated resilient crew performance despite loss of hydraulics. The DC-10’s legacy lives on in the MD-11 and in studies of wide-body tri-jet operations.