18 min listen
The Applegate Memorandum
FromPlane Tales
ratings:
Length:
21 minutes
Released:
Aug 3, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
The DC-10 was McDonnell Douglas's first commercial airliner project since the merger between McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. It started life on the drawing boards as a 4 engined, double decked, wide body airliner that could carry 550 passengers but morphed into single deck, three engined aircraft that could carry one passenger short of 400! In what was expected to be a knockout blow to the competing Lockheed L-1011, the President of American Airlines and James McDonnell of McDonnell Douglas announced American Airlines' intention to acquire the DC-10. Flight 96 was en route between Detroit and Buffalo when, above the city of Windsor in Ontario whilst climbing through 11,750 ft the flight crew heard a distinct thud and dirt and debris flew up from the cockpit floor into their faces. On inspection it was obvious that the rear cargo door had detached from the aircraft. This is the story of the DC-10 cargo door issue and the engineer who tried to warn the company of the dire problem.
The 4 Engined Douglas Proposal
The DC-10
The Cargo Door
The Cargo Door of Flight 96
The Accident Report of Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the SDASM archives, the Douglas Aircraft Corp, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, the FAA and the DOT AIB.
The 4 Engined Douglas Proposal
The DC-10
The Cargo Door
The Cargo Door of Flight 96
The Accident Report of Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the SDASM archives, the Douglas Aircraft Corp, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, the FAA and the DOT AIB.
Released:
Aug 3, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Key Must Go: The crash of Papa India, a Trident, near Staines. A disaster which brought to light the need for Crew Resource Management in the cockpit environment. - - Images under Creative Commons licence by TSRL and Nimbus227. by Plane Tales