The
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was designed to meet the same
American Airlines requirement as the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and
first flew in 1970.
A number of catastrophic
accidents impacted the DC-10's service record in the late
1970's. The faults were corrected and the DC-10 continues to
operate reliably.
A modernized DC-10 (the MD-11)
was first flown in 1990.
The U.S. Air Force
operates the DC-10 as the KC-10 Extender tanker transport
which first flew in 1980. Boeing is modifying existing DC-10s
to freighter configurations.
