What is Mcdonnells DC-10

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 has three engines it designed to medium and long journeys.Two engines mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the vertical stabilizer. In the marketting states DC-10 raced with Airbus 311,Boeing 747, and Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. There are only 389 DC-10 has produced and 30 to the US Airforce as air to air refueling tankers designated the KC-10 Extender. In 1990 KC-10 Extender was changed with MD-11. Planing to Dc-10 was started in 1967. That's also Mcdonnell Douglas first commercial after the Mcdonnel Aircraft Corporation was joined the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. American Airlines offered a specification to manufacturers for a widebody aircraft smaller than the Boeing 747 but capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways.The DC-10 first flew on 29 August 1970 and entered commercial service with launch customer American Airlines on 5 August 1971. Almost identical cargo door blow-out caused Turkish Airlines Flight 981 to crash into a forest near the town of Ermenoville shortly after leaving Orly Airport in Paris on 3 March 1974 .335 passengers and 11 crews all dead. First version of DC-10 knows as serial 10 and their distance 6,112km, on serial 20 this distance is 9,265km and on serial 30 distance is 10,010km. Todays world, reasons of higher passenger capacity, DC-10 airplane using for cargo transportaion. The year of 2008 there is only one DC-10-30 for using the passenger transportation.

DC Specifications

DC-10-10
DC-10-15
DC-10-30
DC-10-40
Cockpit crew
Three
Passengers
380 (1 class), 250 (2 class)
Fuselage length
170 ft 6 in (51.97 m)
Height
58 ft 1 in (17.7 m)
Wingspan
155 ft 4 in (47.34 m)
165 ft 4 in (50.4 m)
Fuselage width
19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Fuselage height
19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Max interior width
18 ft 2 in (5.54 m)
Operating empty weight
240,171 lb (108,940 kg)
266,191 lb (120,742 kg)
270,213 lb (122,567 kg)
Maximum take-off weight
430,000 lb(195,045 kg)
455,000 lb(206,385 kg)
572,000 lb(259,459 kg)
555,000 lb(251,701 kg)
Typical cruise speed
Mach 0.82(564 mph, 908 km/h, 490 kt)
Max cruise speed
Mach 0.88(610 mph, 982 km/h, 530 kt)
Max range, loaded
3,800 miles (6,114 km)
4,350 mi (7,000 km)
6,220 mi (10,010 km)
5,750 mi (9,252 km)
Maximum fuel capacity
21,700 US gal(82,134 L)
26,647 US gal(100,859 L)
36,650 US gal(138,720 L)
36,650 US gal(138,720 L)
Takeoff run on MTOW
8,612 ft (2,625 m)
7,257 ft (2,212 m)
9,341 ft (2,847 m)
9,242 ft (2,817 m)
Service ceiling
42,000 ft (12,802 m)
Engine model (x 3)
GE CF6-6D
GE CF6-50C2F
GE CF6-50C
PW JT9D-59A
Engine thrust (x 3)
40,000 lbf (177.9 kN)
46,500 lbf (206.8 kN)
51,000 lbf (226.9 kN)
53,000 lbf (235.8 kN)

DC Models

DC-10-10CF (9 built): Convertible passenger/cargo transport aircraft. Only built for Continental Airlines(8) and United Airlines (1) DC-10-15 (7 built): Also known as the "DC-10 Sport", designed for use at hot high-altitude airports. The series 15 was fitted with higher-thrust GE CF6-50 powerplants. Only built for Mexican carriers Aeromexico and Mexicana. Produced between 1979 and 1982 DC-10-20 DC-10-30 (164 built): The most common model, built with General Electric CF6-50 turbofan engines and larger fuel tanks to increase range and fuel efficiency, as well as a set of rear center landing gears to support the increased weight. It was the second long-range model after the -40 and very popular with European flag carriers. Produced from 1972 to 1988, the DC-10-30 was delivered to 38 different customers, amongst which Lufthansa (11), Swissair (11), VARIG(11), KLM (10) and Iberia(9) were the largest. DC-10-30ER (6 built) DC-10-30F (10 Built) DC-10-40 (42 built) KC-10A-Extender (60 built): Military version of the DC-10-30 used for air to air refulling. The aircraft was ordered by the U.S. Air Force. Produced from 1981. It is the longest-ranged production aircraft in the world. KDC-10 (4 built): Aerial refueling tanker for the Royal Netherlands Airlines. Converted from civil airliners (DC-10-30CF) to a similar standard as the KC-10.

DC-10 Turkish Airlines Flight 981

Climbing through 13,00ft, 981's radar label disappeared from ATC's radar screen just as a garbled transmission came over the frequency. In the background, words in Turkish followed by a pressurization warning and then an overspeed warning were heard. Continued calls from ATC went unanswered. Shortly after, calls came in to area police stations reporting a large explosion in the forest north of the Paris area. When rescuers reached the scene, only bits of the aircraft remained intact in the large area cut out by the crash. All 346 people aboard the aircraft were killed.......Investigators were able to locate both the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) which were able to reveal many insights about the final moments of the flight of 981. Just as the aircraft was passing through 9,000ft at 300kts, there was a muffled explosion and the sound of air rushing which indicated a sudden decompression. At the same time, the number 2 throttle lever closed and the engine began to spool down. The captain asked what had happened to which Ulusman replied "The fuselage has burst!" The aircraft began to descend while banking to the left. Berkoz pulled the other throttles back and told Ulusman to bring the nose up to which he responded "I can't bring it up, she's not responding!" By this time, the aircraft was in a 20-degree nose down attitude and was continuing to accelerate. At 32 seconds after the explosion, the aircraft's overspeed warning horn sounded, indicating that the aircraft was about to exceed it's never-exceed speed. Shortly after Ulusman said "We've lost it..." and Berkoz said "It looks like we're going to hit the ground." Another few seconds after this, Berkoz apparently changed his mind and exclaimed "Speed!" as he pushed the throttles forward again. The nose began to rise and the G-forces began to rise as the aircraft tried to recover from it's dive. It was too late however. The aircraft struck the ground some 72 seconds after the explosion at 430kts.

what was DC-10's problem?

At the center of the controversy was a serious defect in the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft. The fault lay not in its performance or handling, but something far more mundane, namely the locking mechanism of its rear cargo door. Previously, most jetliner doors had been of the `plug` type, opening inwards and held firmly inplace by cabin pressure while the aircraft was in flight. But the door on the DC-10, which was built by the Convair division of General Dynamics, opened outwards.Due to the constant force being the exerted against the door while operating at high altitudes, a durable and foolproof locking system was an absolute necessity. The door was designed to be closed with a switch. An electrically powered actuator was used to turn a torque tube to which four latches were attached. As the tube revolved during the locking process, the talon of each latch snapped over a corresponding spool. An external lever was then pulled down, driving a locking pin into place on the outside of each latch. Any jamming of the lever should have been an immediate indication that the latches were not in the correct over-centre position.

Accident Database

DATE Airline/Location Aircraft Type/Registration Fatalities 11.03.1973 National Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 1:128 over Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA N60NA 03.03.1974 Turkish Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 346:346 Bois d' Ermenonville, France TC-JAV 03.01.1978 Continental Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 2:200 Los Angeles, California, USA N68045 05.25.1979 American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 270:270+2 Chicago, Illinois, USA (O'Hare Airport) N110AA 10.31.1979 Western Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 72:88 + 1 Mexico City, Mexico N903WA 11.28.1979 Air New Zealand McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 257:257 Mt. Erebus, Antarctica ZK-NZP 01.23.1982 World Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 2:212 Boston, Massachusetts, USA N113WA 09.13.1982 Spantax McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 50:393 Malaga, Spain EC-DEG 02.28.1984 Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 0:177 New York, New York, USA (JFK Airport) LN-RKB 05.21.1988 American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 0:254 Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, USA N136AA 07.19.1989 United Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 112:298 Sioux City, Iowa, USA N1819U 07.27.1989 Korean Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 75:200 + 6 Tripoli, Libya HL7328 09.19.1989 Union des Transports Aeriens McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 171:171 Bilma, Niger N54629 12.21.1992 Martinair McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 56:340 Faro, Portugal PH-MBN 04.14.1993 American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 0:202 Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, USA N139AA 06.13.1996 Garuda Indonesia McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 3:275 Fukuoka, Japan PK-GIE 12.21.1999 Cubana de Aviacion McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 17:314+9 Guatemala City, Guatemala F-GTDI 05.01.2000 DAS Air Cargo McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 0:7 Entebbe, Uganda N800WR 04.28.2004 Centurion Air Cargo McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F 0:3 Bogota, Colombia N189AX