Thanks to Squarespace for making this video possible, more on that after this
video. In just a few short years it would go from being the pride of Airlines to a
plane that some thought twice about flying. [Television] The cargo door was found to have
a basic fault in design. Before you got on the DC-10, were you worried about it? After the Chicago disaster though it's the
engine mountings that have come under the closest scrutiny. After a series of
accidents, McDonnell Douglas is newest jet was engulfed in an extraordinary
wave of controversy. And while the DC-10 ultimately went on to be safe reliable
even pioneering, the company that built it never fully recovered from its
missteps.
the DC-10's story begins in the early 1970s, at a pivotal time, when air travel
was undergoing a revolution. Long-distance flying, once reserved for
the wealthy, opened up to the middle class. And some of this had to do with
aircraft design. A 1960s era airliner like a long-range Boeing 707 had a
single aisle, accommodating at most six seats across. But a new generation of
planes introduced for the 1970s added another aisle allowing for many more
seats. These new generation of airliners were called wide-bodies and their
increased capacity and new efficient fan jet engines helped make air travel more
affordable. Leading the way was Boeing's revolutionary 747. Introduced in 1970, the
world's first wide-body was doubled the size of earlier airliners, and the jumbo jet
quickly became an icon of the jet age. But rival manufacturers raced to unveil
wide-bodies of their own. In 1971 McDonnell Douglas introduced the DC-10.
With a striking trijet configuration, it promised improved fuel efficiency
and lower maintenance costs. The medium to long range airliner could be
configured to carry anywhere from 255 to 380 passengers. And with larger windows
and a quiet spacious cabin, the DC-10 set a new benchmark for passenger comfort.
This was an entirely new kind of airliner and McDonnell Douglas
anticipated huge demand. But so did rival Lockheed, a company also introducing a
new trijet wide-body aimed at largely the same market as the DC-10. The two
companies were building pretty much the same plane, but the L-1011 was Lockheed's
first ever jet airliner. McDonnell Douglas on the other hand, had been
building them since the late 1950s, so they knew a thing or two about slinging
jets. The DC-10's wide-body design incorporated many existing narrow-body
technologies from earlier DC-8 and DC-9s. Focusing on simplicity and reliability,
McDonnell Douglas took a technologically cautious
in an era of rapid technological change. And this helped accelerate the DC-10s
development. On the other hand the L-1011s more ambitious and technically
advanced design threw Lockheed's program into a tailspin of cost overruns
and delays. The DC-10 beat the L-1011 to the market, and it was less expensive. So
McDonnell Douglas was soon out selling its rival. [Television] the DC-10 is probably the
quietest jetliner you've ever flown in. The United DC-10 Friendship, a plane designed
to please everybody. From a wide-body Continental Airlines DC-10... but the DC-10
would quickly lose its shine. In just a few short years the new jet would go
from being the pride of Airlines, to a plane that some people thought twice
about flying. A series of accidents during the 1970s, some of which were
attributed to the plane's design, engulfed the DC-10 in an extraordinary wave of
controversy. McDonnell Douglas found itself facing accusations that it had
rushed the planes development, leading to inadequate, even negligent design
decisions. In 1979 an American Airlines DC-10 was involved in America's worst
air disaster, but it's the events after the crash that really damaged the
plane's reputation. In an unprecedented move, the Federal Aviation Administration
suspended the DC-10 Type Certificate. For five weeks U.S. registered DC-10s
sat grounded on tarmacs, and foreign DC-10s were banned from flying into U.S.
airspace. The investigation focused on a suspected flaw with the airplane's engine
mountings, but the sudden grounding caused chaos at airports.
[Television] How are you going to get there now? I have no idea, I just picked up my luggage downstairs in the mess, I don't know where I'm going to go form here.
Before you got on the DC-10, were you worried about it? Well, in Los Angeles where it was every news report had a big write-up of
it--about the incident of the DC-10s so it makes it is very much on edge.
This delay is due to DC-10 operating restrictions. And passengers are requested to await further calls concerning this flight.
A spokesman for the FAA and the United States declared there was a distinct possibility that the model might never fly again
operators and passengers around the world are wondering whether the sight of
a climbing DC-10 will be as common in the future, or whether it will ever be
seen again. Damage to the DC-10s reputation was immediate and severe.
Airlines stopped featuring the plane in their advertisements, some quietly
removed DC-10s from their mainline routes and new orders for McDonnell
Douglas wide-body dried up. But the 1979 American Airlines crash was ultimately
attributed to improper maintenance procedures and not directly to a design
flaw in the DC-10. But that did little to vindicate the plane's reputation in the
eyes of the public. Because memories were still fresh from an even deadlier
incident five years earlier. In 1974 a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed outside
of Paris when an improperly locked cargo door blew open. The explosive
depressurization triggered a catastrophic chain of events which
ultimately severed critical hydraulic lines needed to control the jet. This was
one of the world's worst air disasters, and it might have been avoidable because
two years earlier the same catastrophic chain of events almost brought down an
American Airlines DC-10 just outside of Detroit. Only the pilot's skill and sheer
luck that some hydraulic lines still remained intact prevented disaster. But
remarkably McDonnell Douglas knew about issues with the cargo door even before
the plane entered service the company had witnessed the cargo door blow up
during its own ground testing. Not surprisingly, McDonnell Douglas was
criticized for how it handled the issue, which involved negotiating
their way out of an FAA issued air worthiness directive. Instead McDonnell
Douglas was allowed to handle the cargo door flaw by issuing a Service Bulletin.
But it was ultimately ignored by some airlines. After the Turkish Airlines
disaster McDonnell Douglas was hit with multiple lawsuits from families of the
victims, including up to that point the largest lawsuit in history. And when it
became clear they'd likely be held liable, the cases were settled. But while
the Turkish Airlines disaster was a PR nightmare for McDonnell Douglas, it's the
1979 Chicago disaster that really seemed to crystallize the DC-10s reputation. The
ensuing media frenzy, much of it driven by speculation, was truly unprecedented.
But there were other more pointed criticisms, like accusations that the
DC-10 s design had been compromised in a deliberate rush to beat the L-1011 to
the market, resulting in an overall less sophisticated plane. But what is certain
is that it would take years for the DC-10 s reputation to recover. And by the
1980s,McDonnell Douglas was facing even bigger challenges. The market had really only been big enough for one trijet and that ensured that neither
would become a true commercial success Airlines now wanted more efficient twin-engine
wide-bodies from Airbus and Boeing. McDonnell Douglas was running out of
cash to innovate, but that didn't stop the company from trying. [Television] With a new MD-11,
McDonnell Douglas once again sets a standard for commercial transport
excellence and technological innovation. McDonnell Douglas's efforts to sell an
improved version of its trijet in an era when twin-engine jets were clearly the
future signaled the beginning of the end for the once legendary aircraft builder.
But despite its troubled start the DC-10 would fly for over 40 years, serving with
some of the world's largest airlines. In spite of tragic early accidents,
including an infamous later incident in Sioux City, statistically the DC-10
safety record would go on to be comparable to other wide-bodies of the
era, and much safer than earlier generations of airliners. Noted for their
strength, reliability, and ease of maintenance, these iconic jets were
workhorses for reputable airlines, and in no small part the DC-10 helped open up
air travel to the masses, forever changing the modern airline industry.
Ladies and gentlemen at this time we'd like to bring your attention to
Squarespace, the best all-in-one platform for building websites. To avoid any
turbulence in launching your website, we'd advise you to always choose Squarespace.
Doing so ensures you get access to the most intuitive and easy to use user
interfaces, a huge selection of beautiful templates, and award-winning 24/7 support.
In the event that you are planning to launch an online store, a side hustle,
portfolio or would just like a personal website to showcase whatever it is you
do, Squarespace will get you up to cruising altitude in no time. We'd also
like to remind you that you can start building your website for free at
squarespace.com slash Mustard and when you're ready to launch your website use
the code mustard for 10% off your first purchase.