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McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 - American Airlines
American Airlines played a major role in the history of the DC-10. In 1966 American Airlines asked airliner manufacturers to make proposals for a widebody airliner smaller than the Boeing 747. This resulted in the so-called 'airbus-battle' between the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed Tristar. American was the first to order one of these 'airbuses' when it signed for 25 aircraft. The airline introduced the DC-10 on its network in 1971.
What American initially wanted was a twin-engined aircraft, but because other airlines needed three engines for certain types of operations, both Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas decided to install three engines on their planes. Later the European consortium Airbus Industrie chose for a widebody with two engines.
American became one of the biggest operators of the DC-10 with a total of 66 aircraft: 55 DC-10-10s for domestic use and 11 DC-10-30s on long-haul services. During the 1990s the DC-10s were replaced by MD-11s and Boeing 777s.
The picture shows a domestic DC-10-10. This version lacks the third main undercarriage leg under the fuselage. The photograph was taken while the aircraft approached Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
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