DC-10 Fatal Accidents

  1. 3 November 1973; National Airlines DC10; over New Mexico, USA: The aircraft had an uncontained failure of one of the wing mounted engines. A piece of the engine struck the fuselage and broke a passenger window. One of the 116 passengers was sucked out of the aircraft during a rapid decompression. The remains of the passenger were not found.
  2. 3 March 1974; THY DC10-10; near Paris, France: During climb, a rear cargo door which was improperly closed blew out. The resulting cabin decompression caused damage to the main cabin floor and to some control cables in the area. The crew was unable to control the aircraft and the plane crashed. All 333 passengers and 12 crew were killed.
  3. 1 March 1978; Continental Airlines DC10-10; Los Angeles, USA: The crew aborted the takeoff due to a ruptured tire and the aircraft ran off the runway. Two of the 184 passengers were killed.
  4. 25 May 1979; American Airlines DC10-10; Chicago, USA: During the takeoff roll, the left engine and pylon separated from the wing. The crew continued the takeoff, but wing damage due to the engine separation also damaged the aircraft hydraulic system and caused retraction of some flight control surfaces. The aircraft rolled and crashed shortly after takeoff. All 258 passengers and 13 crew were killed.
  5. 31 October 1979; Western Airlines DC10-10; Mexico City, Mexico: The crew inadvertently landed on a closed runway parallel to the active runway. The aircraft struck a large vehicle and crashed. 63 of the 77 passengers and 9 of the 11 crew were killed.
  6. 28 November 1979; Air New Zealand DC10-30; near Mt. Erebus, Antarctica: The aircraft was on a sightseeing flight from New Zealand to Antarctica. Due to a navigational error, the crew flew the aircraft into a mountain during whiteout conditions. All 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed.
    Books
    Impact Erebus
  7. 23 January 1982; World Airways DC10-30CF; Boston, USA: The aircraft landed on an icy runway and was unable to stop before leaving the runway. The came to rest partially in an adjacent waterway. Part of the fuselage broke off and was in the water. Two of the 198 passengers were killed.
  8. 13 September 1982; Spantax DC10-30CF; Malaga, Spain: The crew rejected the takeoff at about V1 and were unable to stop the aircraft on the runway. 48 of the 393 passengers were killed.
  9. 24 July 1987; Air Afrique DC10; en route Rome-Paris: A hijacker killed one of the 148 passengers.
  10. 19 July 1989; United Airlines DC10-10; Sioux City, USA: While in cruise, engine two had an uncontained failure that led to a loss of all three hydraulic systems. The crew maneuvered the aircraft to a crash landing at the Sioux City airport using differential thrust on the two remaining engines to control the aircraft. Of the 296 occupants, one crew member and 110 passengers were killed.
    Books
    Miracle in the Cornfield, 1999
    'Chosen to Live': The Inspiring Story of Flight 232 Survivor Jerry Schemmel, 1996
  11. 27 July 1989; Korean Airlines DC10-30; Tripoli, Libya: The aircraft crashed about one mile (1.6 km) short of the airport during a daylight landing attempt in thick fog. Airport navigational equipment for an instrument landing on the intended runway were apparently not working at the time of the event. Four of the 18 crew members and 68 of the 181 passengers were killed. Six persons on the ground were also killed.
  12. 19 September 1989; UTA DC10-30; near N'Djamena, Chad: The aircraft crashed as a result of an in flight explosion due to a bomb. All 156 passengers and 15 passengers were killed.
  13. 21 December 1992; Martinair DC10-30F; Faro Portugal: The aircraft landed in a storm, hit a wing tip, and departed the runway. Two of the 13 crew and 56 of the 327 passengers were killed.
  14. 13 June 1996; Garuda Indonesian Airways DC10-30; Fukuoka, Japan: The aircraft was on a flight from Japan to Indonesia when it overran the runway after an aborted takeoff and caught fire. There were 260 passengers and 15 crew on board. Three passengers died and a reported 108 of the occupants suffered various injuries.
  15. 21 December 1999; Cubana DC10-30; Guatemala City, Guatemala: The aircraft overran the wet runway and came to rest in a residential neighborhood adjacent to the airport. Eight of the 18 crew members and nine of the 296 passengers were killed. Nine people in the neighborhood were also killed.

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