Credits: GalacticaAsia

The DC-10 was designed and built in Long Beach, California. After going into production in January 1968, 386 commercial units were delivered, along with 60 KC-10 tanker/cargo models. The plane was billed to succeed the Douglas DC-8 narrowbody airliner in the long-haul market. Altogether, airlines in the United States were looking for a widebody plane to take on transcontinental services. Many of these operators were looking for something not as gargantuan as the Boeing 747. Therefore, the DC-10 would arrive smaller than the 360-seat Queen of the Skies. However, it would still be larger than the narrowbody jets of the time that were arriving with around 180 seats. Importantly, American Airlines put the word out that it was looking for a solution to take on similar operations to the 747, but from airports with shorter runways.