The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine medium- to long-range wide body airliner. The model was a successor to the company's DC-8 for long-range operations, and competed in the same markets as the Airbus A300, Boeing 747, and Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, which has a similar layout to the DC-10.

The DC-10 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional tail unit with a single fin and rudder. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear; the later series 30 and 40 have an additional two-wheel main landing gear. It is powered by two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the vertical stabilizer. It was designed to be a medium to long-range airliner with a wide body fuselage to seat over 250 passengers. It is operated by a crew of three located on the flight deck in the nose on the same level as the passenger cabin. The fuselage has under floor stowage for cargo and baggage.

Despite its troubled beginnings in the 1970s, which gave it an unfavorable reputation, the DC-10 ultimately proved a reliable aircraft, much loved by engineers and pilots. The original DC-10-10's notorious safety record continuously improved as design flaws were ironed out and fleet hours increased. In fact, the DC-10's lifetime safety record as of 2003 is comparable to similar second-generation passenger jets. Increased inspections and modifications made the DC-10 among the safest aircraft for passenger travel.

Production of the DC-10 ended in December 1988 with 386 delivered to airlines and 60 to the U.S. Air Force as air-to-air refueling tankers designated the KC-10 Extender.