US regulators have extended the grounding order imposed on the Boeing MD-11 to include variants of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, owing to their similar engine pylon structure.
The grounding was ordered in the aftermath of a UPS MD-11F crash in Louisville on 4 November, after the aircraft’s left engine separated from the wing during the take-off roll.
In a revised emergency directive, the US FAA says it has broadened the flight prohibition to multiple models of the DC-10.
While FedEx has retired its DC-10 – and modified MD-10 – fleets, and the military KC-10A tanker has also been withdrawn, several other DC-10 airframes are still used for specialised operations.
These include the US-based 10 Tanker aerial firefighting platforms, Omega Air’s aerial refuelling aircraft, and the specialist airborne hospital operated by Orbis International.
A small number of DC-10s are also still used as freighters by non-US carriers.
According to the FAA’s directive, the cause of the UPS MD-11F’s engine detachment remains under investigation.
It states that flight by all the MD-11 and DC-10 models covered by the emergency order is prohibited until inspections have been conducted and “all applicable corrective actions are performed”.
US regulators grounded the DC-10 for a period in 1979 after an American Airlines aircraft shed one of its engines during take-off from Chicago O’Hare.
