Wikipedia: VC10.DC-10 / MD-10Continental Airlines DC-10.jpgA DC-10-30 of Continental AirlinesRole Wide-body airlinerNational origin United StatesManufacturer McDonnell DouglasFirst flight August 29, 1970; 51 years agoIntroduction August 5, 1971 with American AirlinesStatus In limited cargo service onlyPrimary users FedEx Express10 Tanker Air CarrierTAB CargoOrbis InternationalProduced 1968–1988Number built DC-10: 386[1]KC-10: 60[1]Variants McDonnell Douglas KC-10 ExtenderDC-10 Air TankerDeveloped into McDonnell Douglas MD-11The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, by American Airlines.The trijet has two turbofans on underwing pylons and a third one at the base of the vertical stabilizer. The twin-aisle layout has a typical seating for 270 in two classes. The initial DC-10-10 had a 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) range for transcontinental flights. The DC-10-15 had more powerful engines for hot and high airports. The DC-10-30 and -40 models (with a third main landing gear leg to support higher weights) each had intercontinental ranges of up to 5,200 nmi (9,600 km). The KC-10 Extender (based on the DC-10-30) is a U.S. Air Force tanker.A design flaw in the cargo doors caused a poor safety record in early operations. Following the American Airlines Flight 191 crash (the deadliest aviation accident in US history), the US Federal Aviation Administration (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.[2] 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 with 60 KC-