VTOL down=flaps, Trim up=Spoilers, AG3=Reverse thrust. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; and was introduced on August 5, 1971 by American Airlines.

A design flaw in the cargo doors caused a poor safety record in early operations. Following the American Airlines Flight 191 crash (the deadliest US aviation accident), the FAA grounded all U.S. DC-10s in June 1979. In August 1983, McDonnell Douglas announced that production would end due to a lack of orders, as it had a widespread public apprehension after the 1979 crash and a poor fuel economy reputation.[3] Design flaws were rectified and fleet hours increased, for a safety record later comparable to similar era passenger jets.

Production ended in 1989, with 386 delivered to airlines along 60 KC-10 tanker aircraft. The DC-10 outsold the similar Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. It was succeeded by the lengthened, heavier McDonnell Douglas MD-11. After merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, Boeing upgraded many in-service DC-10s as the MD-10 with a glass cockpit to eliminate the flight engineer position. In February 2014, the DC-10 made its last commercial passenger flight. Cargo airlines continue to operate it as a freighter, its largest operator is FedEx Express. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a DC-10 adapted for eye surgery. A few DC-10s are on display, while other retired aircraft are in storage.