McDonnell Douglas DC-10
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McDonnell Douglas DC-10
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McDonnell Douglas DC-10
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McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine, long-range airliner, with two
engines mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the
vertical stabilizer. The model was a successor to the Douglas DC-8 for
long range operations and competed in the same markets as the Airbus A300,
Boeing 747 "jumbo jet", and the physically similar Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.
Many were built for the United States Air Force as air-to-air refueling tankers,
designated the KC-10 Extender.
History
The DC-10 was McDonnell Douglas's first wide-bodied commercial airliner, built
to a specification from American Airlines for a widebody aircraft smaller than
the Boeing 747 but capable of flying similar long-range routes. It first flew
on August 29, 1970, and entered commercial service in 1971, nearly a year before
the Lockheed Tristar which was built to the same specification.
Although the DC-10's lifetime safety record is comparable to that of other heavy
passenger jet aircraft, the DC-10 suffered a trying time during the 1970s when
a string of highly publicized crashes resulted in a brief grounding by the
United States Federal Aviation Administration.
Unlike many other aircraft, the DC-10 was designed with cargo doors that opened
outward instead of inward. This required a heavy locking mechanism to secure the
door against the outward force caused by pressurization of the fuselage. In the
event that the door lock malfunctioned there was potential for catastrophic
blow-out of the whole door.
This problem was first identified in 1972, when American Airlines Flight 96
lost its aft cargo door after takeoff from Detroit. Fortunately the crew was
able to perform an emergency landing with no further incident. On Flight 96, an
airport employee had violently forced the door shut, weakening the locking pin
and causing the door to subsequently blow-out as it reached altitude. McDonnell
Douglas attempted to place the blame on the employee, who they described as
illiterate
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