DC-10 Nicknames, Reputation – Was It Really That Dangerous?

[ad_1]

DALLAS – Death Contraption 10, Death Cruiser 10, Daily Crash 10, Donald’s Disaster, and Crowd Killer. These are just a few of the unfortunate nicknames that were bestowed upon the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in its first few years of service. It goes without question that the DC-10 had serious issues in its early years, but are the nicknames warranted?

The DC-10 was introduced into commercial service in August of 1971 by American Airlines (AA). The new tri-jet wide-body aircraft were smaller than the rival Boeing 747, but aimed at providing similar long-haul service. Unfortunately, the aircraft almost immediately encountered severe issues with its design.

The initial DC-10-10, powered by three GE CF6s, has two main landing gears. Photo: By AlainDurand – Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/American-Airlines/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-10-10/1021178/LPhoto http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/8/7/1/1021178.jpg, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27352175

Major DC-10 Accidents


In 1972, the cargo door blew off an AA DC-10 just after departing Detroit. The rapid loss of cabin pressure caused a portion of the cabin floor to collapse, severing or degrading the capability of several flight control mechanisms.

Thankfully, the pilots managed to get the aircraft back on the runway without a single fatality. This was the first major accident for the aircraft type. The NTSB made several safety recommendations to ensure this incident would not happen again.

Just two years later, the same exact defect reared its ugly head once again, killing all passengers and crew on board Turkish Airlines (TK) Flight 981. This time, the DC-10 was grounded and barred from entering United States airspace until a permanent and reliable fix was found.

Following the cargo door accidents, the DC-10 suffered several more high-profile, major crashes, the most notable of which was United Airlines (UA) Flight 232. On a flight from Denver to Chicago, the tail-mounted engine suffered a catastrophic failure, taking out several flight control systems, leaving the pilots with nearly no control.

Miraculously, the crew nearly managed to land the stricken airliner, with 111 deaths out of 285 passengers and 11 crew members.

This aircraft crashed into a forest whilst en-route from Paris Orly to London Heathrow on March 3, 1974, when the left rear cargo door opened, causing rapid decompression. The cabin floor collapsed, rupturing control runs to the center engine and flying controls in the tail. Photo: Steve Fitzgerald

The DC-10 v the A300


Four major accidents seemed to seal the fate of the DC-10, doomed to always be remembered as the “death cruiser.” Is such a nickname fair, however?

As of September 2015, the Aviation Safety Network reported a total of 32 hull-loss incidents, which are incidents where the aircraft had to be scrapped. Over the life of the model, there have been 1,439 deaths as a result of the aircraft. In comparison, as of 2022, the Airbus A300 has been involved in 36 hull-loss incidents, claiming a total of 1,133 lives.

While fewer A300s than DC-10s were delivered, the A300 is a much newer aircraft than the DC-10 and would have the benefit of lessons learned from the DC-10.

One of the most notorious crashes occurred in Chicago when the engine of an AA DC-10 separated just after takeoff, causing the jet to fall back to earth, killing everyone on board. This crash happened to be caught on video, giving the DC-10 stigma a literal image that it would never be able to shake off.

The NTSB investigation later showed that the crash was not related to the previous design flaws, but rather faulty maintenance practices at AA. While the aircraft itself was later found not to be at fault, the damage to the aircraft’s reputation was done for good.

FedEx N315FE McDonnell Douglas DC-10(F). Photo: Luke Ayers/Airways

Current Status of the DC-10


Yes, the DC-10 had major issues early on in its life, issues that will never be forgotten. Since those issues, however, the DC-10 has proved itself a worthy airliner. When all was said and done, McDonnell Douglas produced 446 DC-10s, with the final delivery occurring in 1989. To this day, the DC-10 still serves many functions.

Until recently, FedEx still had a fleet of 19 DC-10s flying in 2022, down from the 60 it had eight years ago as it slowly purchased newer Boeing 767s. FedEx does not operate the DC-10 anymore. It operates MD-10s instead, which is an upgrade to the DC-10.

The MD-10 removes the Flight Engineer station and fits a cockpit much like the one from the MD-11, the latter being a longer and taller aircraft than the DC-10.

The United States military uses the DC-10, or KC-10, as the backbone of its airborne refueling system, with about 59 still in service. Furthermore, Evergreen uses the DC-10 as a “supertanker” to help fight forest fires, and the type even serves as a flying eye hospital with the group ORBIS.


Featured image: a FedEx DC-10 night shot. Photo: Luca Flores/Airways

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *