NorthWest DC10's

Pembo330,

I agree that the press reporting of the DC10 incidents did not help at all but then again nor did the grounding of the type by the FAA. The public perception of an ‘unsafe’ aeroplane was reinforced by the FAA ie if an official govt organisation thinks it is unsafe then it is!

I have flown on DC10’s of American Airlines & Laker and survived 🙂

Here’s how I remember them at from day trips to Prestwick in the 80’s.

Just for fun …..

Thanks for those facts Paul.

I agree with everything you’ve said, but, I think the media has a lot to do with the perception of the DC10. I remember chatting to someone a couple of years ago who said the only aircraft he would never fly on was a DC10. Thanks to all the media hype regarding these incidents, people do make judgements on certain aircraft (often wrong judgements).

I can’t wait to have my first DC10 flight later this year but in the back of my mind, quite unjustly, I’m thinking this is an old aircraft with one of the highest crash incidents on Western built machinery. Even I, who know the facts, can’t help but feel a little nervous and I blame the media for that (and my own lack of self control – lol).

Thanks wysiwyg – glad somebody appreciated the actual facts rather than make general statements about a fine aircraft.

The details I mentioned are all available from several books and I hope I got the major points across.

One other DC10 incident he failed to mention was the Air New Zealand one in Antartica – not a fault of the aircraft if the routing that was programmed into the fms was moved 40 or so miles and the crew were not informed.

Very, very well summed up Paulc.

cbstd,

The Swiss DC10 that suffered an inflight fire was a MD11.

The Thy crash in 1974 was the last chapter in a long story of events relating to the rear cargo door. In the same year an American DC10 flying over Canada (Windsor Locks area) suffered an identical door failure and subsequent partial floo collapse. Luckily the control runs were not severed and the aircraft was able to make an emergency landing. Subsequent to this the FAA issued a directive stating that the locking mechanism on the door must be strengthened along with the floor. Also at this time MCD were in the process of moving production lines to Long Beach and one aircraft was missed. This subsequently became TC-JAV? which crashed near Paris in 1974.

The AA crash at Chicago was initially the result of a non standard maintenance practice of removing the engine and pylon together rather than seperately. The actuall crash was (as in so many) the result of several small problems resulting in the accident.
The crew were aware of an engine ‘failure’ what they did not know (as you cannot see the wing engines on a DC10 from the cockpit when sat down) was the the left engine had been torn from the wing. They could not have know about the damage to the 2 aircraft systems this also caused. The hydraulic lines were damaged causing the leading edge slats to retract (from airflow pressure) This would have caused the left wing to have a higher stall speed than the right. The crew began to climb the aircraft at the speeds determined for a 2 engine takeoff – unfortunatley this slight reduction in speed caused the left wing to stall from which there was insufficient height to recover. The second damaged system was the stall warning……..

The Utd DC10 at Sioux City was not the fault of the aircraft – the problem was traced back to a engine fan disk which had an undetected flaw. It is a indication of how strong the aircraft and skillful the crew that many of the passengers survived. I will say though that in the DC10 all the hydraulic control runs for the rudder/elevator/ailerons are close together so if one is damaged then the others are also likely to suffer. The L1011 has a 4th hydraulic system running via a different route so would be less lilely to suffer a total hydraulic system faiure.

Lot of aircraft have dropped panels / bits (look at the Concorde rudder). The same goes for overheating tyres / brakes – these are not unique DC10 problems and so not be so treated.

I always disliked the DC10. I suspect that it did not get as much development as it should have as Douglas rushed it to market to beat out the L-1011.

I have always considered the DC10 to be “cursed.” Early on, a DC10 on approach to LAX dropped access panels over Beverly Hills. The Turkish DC10 departing from Paris, The Swiss Air DC10 that suffered a mid-air electrical fire, the AA DC10 departing O’Hare, the UA DC10 that barely managed to get down in Iowa, the DC10 that over heated it wheels on the ground at LAX which caused a fire which resulted in one death. I am willing to bet that the DC10 has the highest incident rate of any non-Soviet civilian aircraft.

My first DC10 ride was with World Airlines on a charter from LAX to GTW. One of the passenger doors would not seal properly so an attendant stuffed a pillow in the crack. Subsequently I have flown other DC10’s, but not by choice.

I say good riddance.

Scott

Originally posted by paulc
I flew on N147US from Washington To Amsterdam in September 1997. Service was below average with a reasonable hot meal but poor ‘breakfast’ (a banana & muffin) Comfort was average, with limited IFE on 1 screen per cabin. Depending upon where you were seated you could have a restricted view.

I guess thats going to be my main problem Paul, IFE. I haven’t flown long-haul that often, but, on all but one occasion I’ve had a PTV which can make a big difference IMO to the journey. I’m really looking forward to my first experience of flying on a DC10 but I’m not expecting to get won over by great entertainment or comfort!

But then, maybe that will be the attraction! 🙂

I flew on N147US from Washington To Amsterdam in September 1997. Service was below average with a reasonable hot meal but poor ‘breakfast’ (a banana & muffin) Comfort was average, with limited IFE on 1 screen per cabin. Depending upon where you were seated you could have a restricted view.

I’ve flown the DC10 of CO and CP. It’s not a bad aircraft, but compared with more modern flight it is a bit dated. For instance, when you take off, you really feel that old rumble of take-off, where the ceiling panels shake. Good fun though.

I know that NW still operate 3 times daily??? service to Gatwick, using a 10-30. I saw two up there on sunday.

Form what I can gather, the DC10-40’s are just about gone from NW with the -30’s still operating and likely to be doing so for a couple of years or so.

A330’s are joining the fleet, which is always a welcome addition, but it’ll be a sad day when the DC10 leaves NWA for good.:(

I flew with them in ’89 from DET to CDG .
It was not bad , but I’m not objective since I LOVE the DC10.

However those are far away from the actual standards such as 777 or A330/340.

NW still operates DC10-30 between DET and CDG

Thanks Andrew, Thanks Michael!

I appreciate that – the last site is particularly useful.

Has anyone had a flying experience on a NW DC-10?

Hiya Pembo good to see you back. 🙂

Heres a few sites that may help you:

http://www.taxiways.de/DC-10/D10operator/Northwest.html

http://www.bird.ch/bharms/mcdonnel/dc10_t_1.htm

http://mama.indstate.edu/users/dougie/nwafleet/DC10.html

Hope these help, the last link is propbably your best bet.

Cheers.

It was in 1971 that Northwest started to fly the McDonnell Douglas DC10 series.

They have operated 11 DC10-30s and 21 DC10-40s, but I’m not sure how many have now been withdrawn from service.

The replacement for the DC10 is the 757-300.

Northwest’s DC10s are a 2-5-2 seating configuration in economy. For cabin shots of their DC10 aircraft, click the following links:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/322809/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/125428/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/073547/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/073546/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/012750/M/

Do check the comments though, some of these shots are of their first class cabin.

As for the current DC10 fleet for Northwest, I couldn’t help I’m afraid!