The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft 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.
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (TK981/THY981) was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed into the Ermenonville Forest, outside Paris, killing all 346 people on board. The crash was also known as the Ermenonville air disaster. Flight 981 was the deadliest plane crash in aviation history until 27 March 1977, when 583 people perished in the collision of two Boeing 747s in Tenerife. It remained the deadliest single-aircraft accident until the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 on 12 August 1985, and the deadliest aviation accident without survivors until the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision on 12 November 1996. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors, the first fatal hull loss and the deadliest crash involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the sixth deadliest aviation disaster altogether, and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in France. It is also the deadliest aviation incident that did not involve a Boeing 747.
ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami to Atlanta. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into the Everglades about 10 minutes after departing Miami as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment possibly caused by mislabeled and improperly stored hazardous cargo. All 110 people on board were killed. The airline already had a poor safety record before the crash, and the accident brought widespread attention to the airline's problems. ValuJet's fleet was grounded for several months after the accident. When operations resumed, the airline was unable to attract as many customers as it had before the accident. It acquired AirTran Airways in 1997, but the lingering damage to the ValuJet name led its executives to assume the AirTran name.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of the first prototype began on March 9, 1988. Its maiden flight occurred on January 10, and it achieved FAA certification on November 8, 1990. The first delivery was to Finnair on December 7 and it entered service on December 20, 1990.
American Airlines Flight 96 (AA96/AAL96) was a regular domestic flight operated by American Airlines from Los Angeles to New York via Detroit and Buffalo. On June 12, 1972, the left rear cargo door of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating the flight blew open and broke off en route between Detroit and Buffalo above Windsor, Ontario; the accident is thus sometimes referred to as the Windsor incident, although according to the NTSB it is an accident, not an incident.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell Aircraft to become McDonnell Douglas. Following the introduction of its first jetliner, the high capacity DC-8, in 1959, Douglas was interested in producing an aircraft suited to smaller routes. As early as 1958, design studies were conducted; approval for the DC-9, a smaller all-new jetliner, came on April 8, 1963. The DC-9-10 first flew on February 25, 1965, and gained its type certificate on November 23, to enter service with Delta Air Lines on December 8.
Ameristar Air Cargo, Inc. is an American passenger and cargo airline based in Dallas, Texas, USA. It operates passenger and cargo services in the Americas and acts as a broker to other cargo carriers. Its main base is Addison Airport in north Dallas, with hubs at Willow Run Airport and El Paso International Airport.
In aviation, a preflight checklist is a list of tasks that should be performed by pilots and aircrew prior to takeoff. Its purpose is to improve flight safety by ensuring that no important tasks are forgotten. Failure to correctly conduct a preflight check using a checklist is a major contributing factor to aircraft accidents.
Avensa Flight 358 was a scheduled airline flight from Maturín Airport to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Venezuela that crashed on 22 December 1974 killing all 75 people on board.
Continental Airlines Flight 603 was a scheduled McDonnell Douglas DC-10 flight between Los Angeles International Airport and Honolulu International Airport. On March 1, 1978, it crashed during an aborted takeoff, resulting in the deaths of four passengers.
On October 28, 2016, FedEx Express Flight 910, a McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F flying from Memphis International Airport to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport was involved in a runway skid after a landing gear collapse, which resulted in a fire completely destroying the left engine and wing. Two crew members, the only people on board, were unharmed.
Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 was a charter flight on January 13, 1977, from Grant County, Washington, United States, to Tokyo, Japan, with a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The flight crashed during the initial climb phase, shortly after takeoff from Anchorage, in part because the flight captain, Hugh L. Marsh, was intoxicated as shown by a blood alcohol level of 0.29; the co-pilot and the other crew were not impaired. All of those on board, including three flight crew members and two cattle handlers, were killed in the crash.
Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight, flying from Reno to Dayton with an intermediate stopover at Rancho Cordova. On February 16, 2000, the DC-8 operating the flight crashed onto an automobile salvage yard shortly after taking off from Sacramento Mather Airport, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members on board. The crew reported control problems during takeoff and attempted unsuccessfully to return to Mather airport.
Air Transport International Flight 805 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight from Seattle to Toledo operated by Burlington Air Express. On February 15, 1992, the Douglas DC-8 operating the flight crashed during a second go-around attempt at Toledo Express Airport, killing all four people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the accident was caused by pilot error due to the aircraft's control not being maintained.
Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 was a cargo flight carrying mail for the United States Postal Service from Greater Buffalo International Airport (BUF) in Buffalo, New York, to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) in Indiana, with a stopover at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) in Cleveland, Ohio. On February 17, 1991, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC operating the flight crashed on takeoff from Cleveland during icing conditions. Both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants, were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the causes of the crash were the flight crew failing to deice their aircraft, and the inexperience of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), McDonnell Douglas, and Ryan International Airlines with icing condition on DC-9-10 aircraft.
Air Transport International Flight 782 was a ferry flight from Kansas City International Airport in Missouri to Westover Metropolitan Airport in Springfield, Massachusetts using a Douglas DC-8-63 with one of its 4 engines inoperative. On February 16, 1995, the aircraft failed to takeoff from Kansas City, went off the runway, and crashed. All three flight crew members, the only occupants on board, were killed. The cause was deemed to be improper training, which resulted in the crew failing to understand a three-engine takeoff procedure. In addition, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA)'s oversight of rest regulations and the airline were both poor.
