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145-702: The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus . Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid-1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the Airbus A340 quadjet , and launched both designs along with their first orders in June 1987. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered service with Air Inter in January 1994. The A330-200,

290-424: A deadheading DC-10 flight instructor, performed a partially controlled emergency landing by constantly adjusting the thrust of the remaining two engines; 185 people on board survived, but 111 others died, and the aircraft was destroyed. The DC-10 was designed without backup flight controls because it was considered extremely improbable that all hydraulic systems would fail. However, due to their close proximity under

435-550: A 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in) tall winglet instead of the wingtip fences found on earlier Airbus aircraft. The shared wing design with the A340 allowed the A330 to incorporate aerodynamic features developed for the former aircraft. The failure of International Aero Engines ' radical ultra-high-bypass V2500 "SuperFan", which had promised around 15 per cent fuel burn reduction for the A340, led to multiple enhancements including wing upgrades to compensate. Originally designed with

580-475: A 3,500- nautical-mile [nmi] (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) range for transcontinental flights . The DC-10-15 had more powerful engines for hot and high airports. The DC-10-30 and –40 models (with a third main landing gear leg to support higher weights) each had intercontinental ranges of up to 5,200 nmi (9,600 km; 6,000 mi). The KC-10 Extender (based on the DC-10-30) is a tanker aircraft that

725-780: A 56 m (180 ft) span , the wing was later extended to 58.6 m (190 ft) and finally to 60.3 m (200 ft). At 60.3 m (200 ft), the wingspan is similar to that of the larger Boeing 747-200 , but with 35 percent less wing area. The A330 and A340 fuselage is based on that of the Airbus A300 -600, with many common parts, and has the same external and cabin width: 5.64 m (19 ft) and 5.26 m (17 ft). Typical seating arrangements are 2–2–2 six-abreast in business class and 2–4–2 eight-abreast in economy class . The fin, rudder, elevators, horizontal tail plane (used as fuel tank), flaps, ailerons, and spoilers are made of composite materials , making 10% of

870-491: A combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space. However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the extra passenger space in order to insert more seats and increase revenue and profits. Wide-body aircraft are also used by commercial cargo airlines , along with other specialized uses. By the end of 2017, nearly 8,800 wide-body airplanes had been delivered since 1969, with production peaking at 412 in 2015. Following

1015-405: A distinctive bulbous "blister fairing". This raises the aircraft's nose so that the cargo deck is level during loading, as the standard A330's landing gear results the plane having a nose-down attitude while on the ground. The A330-200F made its maiden flight on 5 November 2009. This marked the start of a four-month, 180-hour certification programme. JAA and FAA certifications were expected by March

1160-626: A fan diameter of 290 centimetres (116 in), slightly smaller than the GE90 engines on the Boeing 777. The Trent 900 is designed to fit into a Boeing 747-400F freighter for easier transport by air cargo . The interiors of aircraft, known as the aircraft cabin , have been undergoing evolution since the first passenger aircraft. Today, between one and four classes of travel are available on wide-body aircraft. Bar and lounge areas which were once installed on wide-body aircraft have mostly disappeared, but

1305-558: A fatal crash occurred during certification of the Pratt & Whitney engine when an A330 crashed near Toulouse. Both pilots and the five passengers died. The flight was designed to test autopilot response during a one-engine-off worst-case scenario with the centre of gravity near its aft limit . Shortly after takeoff, the pilots had difficulty setting the autopilot, and the aircraft lost speed and crashed. An investigation by an internal branch of Direction Générale d'Aviation concluded that

1450-575: A few have returned in first class or business class on the Airbus A340-600 , Boeing 777-300ER , and on the Airbus A380. Emirates has installed showers for first-class passengers on the A380; twenty-five minutes are allotted for use of the room, and the shower operates for a maximum of five minutes. Depending on how the airline configures the aircraft, the size and seat pitch of

1595-432: A greater number of passenger seats. Engineers realized having two decks created difficulties in meeting emergency evacuation regulations with the technology available at that time. During the 1960s, it was also believed that supersonic airliners would succeed larger, slower planes. Thus, it was believed that most subsonic aircraft would become obsolete for passenger travel and would be eventually converted to freighters. As

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1740-639: A letter of intent for twenty A340s and ten A330s on 31 March. In 2001, the program cost with the A340 was $ 3.5 billion (equivalent to $ 5.75 billion in 2023). BAe eventually received £450 million of funding from the UK government, well short of the £750 million it had originally requested for the design and construction of the wings. The German and French governments also provided funding. Airbus issued subcontracts to companies in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Portugal,

1885-512: A long slender wing with a very high aspect ratio to provide high aerodynamic efficiency. The wing is swept back at 30 degrees and, along with other design features, allows a maximum operating Mach number of 0.86. To reach a long span and high aspect ratio without a large weight penalty, the wing has relatively high thickness-to-chord ratio of 11.8% or 12.8%. Jet airliners have Thickness-to-chord ratios ranging from 9.4% ( MD-11 or Boeing 747 ) to 13% ( Avro RJ or 737 Classic ). Each wing also has

2030-400: A lower maximum takeoff weight of 202 tonnes (445,000 lb), coupled with de-rated engines, giving a range of 7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi). It was aimed at Singapore Airlines , who had looked to replace its Airbus A310-300s. The variant was also to be a replacement for Airbus A300-600Rs and early Boeing 767s. Airlines, however, were not satisfied with the compromised aircraft;

2175-408: A maximum payload range of 4,604 miles (4,001 nmi; 7,409 km). The series 40 had a typical load range of 5,750 miles (5,000 nmi; 9,250 km) and a maximum payload range of 4,030 miles (3,500 nmi; 6,490 km). The DC-10 had two engine options and introduced longer-range variants a few years after entering service; these allowed it to distinguish itself from its main competitor,

2320-452: A range of 3,800 miles (3,300 nmi; 6,100 km) with a typical passenger load and a range of 2,710 miles (2,350 nmi; 4,360 km) with maximum payload. Various models of the DC-10 promptly followed, such as the series 15, which had a typical load range of 4,350 miles (3,780 nmi; 7,000 km). The series 20 was powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofan engines, whereas

2465-522: A rear center landing gear . It was to use Pratt & Whitney JT9D -15 turbofan engines, each producing 45,500 lbf (202 kN) of thrust, with a maximum takeoff weight of 530,000 pounds (240 t). However, engine improvements led to increased thrust and increased takeoff weight. Northwest Orient Airlines, one of the launch customers for this longer-range DC-10 requested the name change to DC-10-40. A proposed version with Rolls-Royce RB211 -524 engines for British Airways. The order never came and

2610-400: A reliable aircraft with a low overall accident rate as of 1998. The DC-10's initially poor safety record has continuously improved as design flaws were rectified and fleet hours increased. The DC-10's lifetime safety record is comparable to similar second-generation passenger jets as of 2008. The DC-10 has cargo doors that open outward; this allows the cargo area to be completely filled, as

2755-507: A result, airline manufacturers opted for a wider fuselage rather than a taller one (the 747 , and eventually the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ). By adding a second aisle, the wider aircraft could accommodate as many as 10 seats across, but could also be easily converted to a freighter and carry two eight-by-eight freight pallets abreast. The engineers also opted for creating "stretched" versions of

2900-448: A result, development plans prioritised the four-engined TA11 ahead of the TA9. The first specifications for the TA9 and TA11, aircraft that could accommodate 410 passengers in a one-class layout, emerged in 1982. They showed a large underfloor cargo area that could hold five cargo pallets or sixteen LD3 cargo containers in the forward, and four pallets or fourteen LD3s in the aft hold—double

3045-415: A seating configuration that exacerbated the effects of decompression, and as the cabin floor collapsed into the cargo bay, control cables were severed and the aircraft became uncontrollable. Investigators found that the DC-10's relief vents were not large enough to equalize the pressure between the passenger and cargo compartments during explosive decompression. Following this crash, a special subcommittee of

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3190-431: A shortened longer-range variant, followed in 1998 with Canada 3000 as the launch operator. The A330 shares many underpinnings with the airframe of the early A340 variants, most notably the same wing components, and by extension the same structure. However, the A330 has two main landing gear legs instead of three, lower weights, and slightly different fuselage lengths. Both airliners have fly-by-wire controls as well as

3335-583: A similar glass cockpit to increase the commonality . The A330 was Airbus's first airliner to offer a choice of three engines: the General Electric CF6 , Pratt & Whitney PW4000 , or the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 . The A330-300 has a range of 11,750 km (6,340 nmi; 7,300 mi) with 277 passengers, while the shorter A330-200 can cover 13,450 km (7,260 nmi; 8,360 mi) with 247 passengers. Other variants include

3480-463: A solely McDonnell Douglas product, but none proceeded beyond design studies. The KC-10 Extender is a military version of the DC-10-30CF for aerial refueling . The aircraft was ordered by the U.S. Air Force and delivered from 1981 to 1988. A total of 60 were built. These aircraft are powered exclusively by General Electric CF6 turbofan engines. The KDC-10 was an aerial refueling tanker for

3625-528: A surge in demand for widebody airliners. However, the Boeing 747-400 , MD-11, Airbus A330 / A340 , and soon-to-be-built Boeing 777 were all behind schedule and couldn't fully meet the demand for widebody airliners. Production of first-generation widebodies like the Boeing 747-100 / 200 / 300 , L-1011, and DC-10 had already stopped, so the value of used DC-10-30s almost doubled, rising from less than $ 20 million to almost $ 40 million. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10

3770-487: A three-storey technical centre with 15,000 m (161,000 sq ft) of floor area at Filton . In north Wales, BAe also spent £5 million on a new production line at its Broughton wing production plant. In Germany, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) invested DM 400 million ($ 225 million) on manufacturing facilities in the Weser estuary, including at Bremen , Einswarden, Varel , and Hamburg . France saw

3915-479: A total of 1,496 A330ceos had been ordered, with 1,437 delivered. In December 2014, Airbus announced that it would reduce A330 production to nine aircraft per month from ten, because of falling orders. Airbus did not rule out any further production cuts. The announcement led to an immediate drop in Airbus Group's stock price because the company derived a significant percentage of its cash flow and net profit from

4060-504: A twinjet. Most modern wide-body aircraft have two engines, although the heaviest wide-body aircraft, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8, are built with four engines. The upcoming Boeing 777X-9 twinjet is approaching the capacity of the earlier Boeing 747. The Boeing 777 twinjet features the most powerful jet engine, the General Electric GE90 . The early variants have a fan diameter of 312 centimetres (123 in), and

4205-422: A widebody aircraft smaller than the Boeing 747 yet capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways; this specification would be highly influential in the design of what would become the DC-10. It would become McDonnell Douglas's first commercial airliner after the merger between McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. An early DC-10 design proposal

4350-585: A wing virtually identical to that of the A340-200/300. On the A330-300, one engine is installed at the inboard pylon while the outboard pylon position is not used; for the A340-300, both engine pylons are used, which allows the A340-300 wing to sustain a higher (wing-limited) MTOW. This is as the A340's two engines at each wing provide a more equal force distribution (engine weight) over the wing, while also

4495-442: Is a trijet , being powered by three turbofan engines. Two of these engines are mounted on pylons that attach to the bottom of the wings, while the third engine is encased in a protective banjo-shaped structure that is mounted on the top of the rear fuselage. In comparison to the first generation of jetliners, these engines generated less noise and were usually smoke-free. The engines are equipped with thrust reversers which reduce

Airbus A330 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4640-453: Is a low-wing wide-body aircraft . It is sized to conduct medium to long-range flights, offering similar endurance to the larger Boeing 747 yet being able to use shorter runways and thus access airports that it could not. Dependent upon configuration, the main cabin can accommodate between 250 and 380 passengers across its main deck. The fuselage is split into two levels, the upper deck is the only one where passenger seating would be present as

4785-501: Is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas . The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, by American Airlines . The trijet has two turbofans on underwing pylons and a third one at the base of the vertical stabilizer . The twin-aisle layout has a typical seating for 270 in two classes. The initial DC-10-10 had

4930-587: Is an upgrade to add a glass cockpit to the DC-10 with the re-designation to MD-10 . The upgrade included an Advanced Common Flightdeck similar to what was used on the MD-11 and was launched in September 1996. However, the actual avionics are shared with the Boeing 717 , using the Honeywell VIA liquid-crystal-displays. The program was continued by Boeing after its merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, and

5075-425: Is capable of performing all-weather operations, a function that many preceding jetliners had been incapable of. From the onset, it could perform takeoffs and landings completely under autopilot . Cassette tapes were used to load preprogrammed flight plans into the flight computer. As originally built, the cockpit was operated by a flight crew of three; numerous DC-10s have received a retrofitted glass cockpit and

5220-483: Is now in a position to finalise the detailed technical definition of the TA9, now officially designated as the A330, and the TA11, now called the A340, with potential launch customer airlines, and to discuss with them the terms and conditions for launch commitments. The designations were originally reversed and were switched so the quad-jet airliner would have a "4" in its name. Airbus hoped for five airlines to sign for both

5365-500: Is the only available option to increase capacity. The first customer for the A330 Regional was announced as Saudia at the 2015 Paris Air Show. In 2018, the unit cost of an A330-200 was US$ 238.5M, US$ 264.2M for an A330-300 and US$ 241.7M for an A330-200F. The A330neo ("neo" for "New Engine Option") is a development from the initial A330 (now A330 ceo  — "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines developed for

5510-472: Is the second most delivered wide-body airliner after the Boeing 777 . It competes with the Boeing 767 , smaller variants of the Boeing 777, and the 787 . It is complemented by the larger Airbus A350 , which succeeded the four-engined A340. Airbus's first airliner, the A300, was envisioned as part of a diverse family of commercial aircraft. Pursuing this goal, studies began in the early 1970s into derivatives of

5655-559: The A330neo . The COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for new jets in 2020, and Airbus cut its monthly production from 4.5 to 2 A330s. In September 2020, the A330 reached a milestone of 1500 deliveries, Airbus's first twin-aisle aircraft to do so, and the third overall after the Boeing 747 and 777. The A330 is a medium-size, wide-body aircraft, with two engines suspended on pylons under the wings. A two-wheel nose undercarriage and two four-wheel bogie main legs built by Messier-Dowty support

5800-755: The Boeing 787 was called for by owners of the current A330. It was launched in July 2014 at the Farnborough Airshow , promising 14% better fuel economy per seat . It will use the larger Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 exclusively. Its two versions are based on the A330-200 and -300: the -800 should cover 8,150 nmi (15,090 km; 9,380 mi) with 257 passengers while the -900 should cover 7,200 nmi (13,330 km; 8,290 mi) with 287 passengers. The -900 made its first flight on 19 October 2017, received its EASA type certificate on 26 September 2018, and

5945-801: The Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), which covers navigation and flight displays, as well as the Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM). Apart from the flight deck, the A330 also has the fly-by-wire system common to the A320 family, the A340, the A350 , and the A380 . It also features three primary and two secondary flight control systems , as well as a flight envelope limit protection system which prevents maneuvers from exceeding

Airbus A330 - Misplaced Pages Continue

6090-783: The GE CF6 -80, the PW4000 and the A340-500/600's Trent 500 aimed for 5% better SFC than the A300-600. Its 44.8 m (147 ft) wing allowed a 173 t (381,000 lb) MTOW and 4,200 nmi (7,770 km; 4,830 mi) range. In May, the 210-260 seat design had evolved towards keeping the A330 60.3 m (198 ft) span wing and engines for a 195 t MTOW and 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) range. Interested customers included Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Hapag-Lloyd. Announced in July at Farnborough Air Show ,

6235-526: The MD-10 with a glass cockpit that eliminated the need for a flight engineer . In February 2014, the DC-10 made its last commercial passenger flight. Cargo airlines continued to operate a small number as freighters . The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a DC-10 adapted for eye surgery . A few DC-10s have been converted for aerial firefighting use. Some DC-10s are on display, while other retired aircraft are in storage . Following an unsuccessful proposal for

6380-730: The President of the United States . Some wide-body aircraft have been modified to enable transport of oversize cargo . Examples include the Airbus Beluga , Airbus BelugaXL and Boeing Dreamlifter . Two specially modified Boeing 747s were used to transport the U.S. Space Shuttle , while the Antonov An-225 was initially built to carry the Buran shuttle . McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10

6525-541: The Royal Netherlands Air Force . These were converted from civil airliners (DC-10-30CF) to a similar standard as the KC-10. Also, commercial refueling companies Omega Aerial Refueling Services and Global Airtanker Service operate three KDC-10 tankers for lease. The DC-10 Air Tanker is a DC-10-based firefighting tanker aircraft, using modified water tanks from Erickson Air-Crane . The MD-10

6670-743: The United States , it is a requirement to suffix the aircraft's call sign with the word heavy (or super ) when communicating with air traffic control in certain areas. Wide-body aircraft are used in science, research, and the military. Some wide-body aircraft are used as flying command posts by the military like the Ilyushin Il-80 or the Boeing E-4 , while the Boeing E-767 is used for airborne early warning and control . New military weapons are tested aboard wide-bodies, as in

6815-504: The United States Air Force 's CX-HLS (Heavy Logistics System) in 1965, Douglas Aircraft began design studies based on its CX-HLS submission. The aviation author John H. Fielder notes that the company was under competitive pressure to produce a widebody aircraft, having been somewhat slow in the previous decade to introduce its first jetliners . In 1966, American Airlines offered a specification to manufacturers for

6960-707: The United States House of Representatives investigated the cargo-door issue and the certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the original design. An airworthiness directive was issued, and all DC-10s underwent mandatory door modifications. The DC-10 experienced no more major incidents related to its cargo door after FAA-approved changes were made. On May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed immediately after takeoff from Chicago O'Hare Airport . Its left engine and pylon assembly swung upward over

7105-567: The Vickers VC10 and Douglas DC-9 , but with a wide-body fuselage. The British BAC Three-Eleven project did not proceed due to lack of government backing, while the Russian Ilyushin Il-86 wide-body proposal eventually gave way to a more conventional wing-mounted engine design, most likely due to the inefficiencies of mounting such large engines on the aft fuselage. As jet engine power and reliability have increased over

7250-411: The airline seats will vary significantly. For example, aircraft scheduled for shorter flights are often configured at a higher seat density than long-haul aircraft. Due to current economic pressures on the airline industry, high seating densities in the economy class cabin are likely to continue. In some of the largest single-deck wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, the extra space above

7395-475: The composite materials in the PW4168 engine's thrust reverser assembly. Thai Airways received its first A330 during the second half of the year, operating it on routes from Bangkok to Taipei and Seoul . Cathay Pacific received its Trent 700 A330s following the certification of that engine on 22 December 1994. MAS received its A330 on 1 February 1995 and then rescheduled its other ten orders. Its initial range

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7540-455: The vertical stabiliser , rudder , and circular fuselage sections of the A300-600, extended by two barrel sections. Airbus briefly considered the variable camber wing , a concept that requires changing the wing profile for a given phase of flight. Studies were carried out by British Aerospace (BAe), now part of BAE Systems , at Hatfield and Bristol . Airbus estimated this would yield a two per cent improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, but

7685-561: The wake turbulence they produce. Because wake turbulence is generally related to the weight of an aircraft, these categories are based on one of four weight categories: light, medium, heavy, and super. Due to their weight, all current wide-body aircraft are categorized as " heavy ", or in the case of the A380 in U.S. airspace, "super". The wake-turbulence category also is used to guide the separation of aircraft. Super- and heavy-category aircraft require greater separation behind them than those in other categories. In some countries, such as

7830-558: The -400, and a "super-stretch" using the A340-600 's 22-frame stretch and powered by 400 kN (90,000 lbf) engines, the -600. In February 2000 it was reported that a 250-seat A330-100 replacement for the A300/A310 could be launched by year end for 2003 deliveries. Shortened and keeping its fly-by-wire cockpit and systems, with a cleaner A300-600 wing with sealed control surfaces and winglets and at least two new engine types among

7975-491: The -500 first flight was targeted for early 2003 and introduction in early 2004. ILFC would take 10 if it was launched and CIT was interested too. The eight-frame shrink would carry 222 in three classes or 266 in two classes. Its initial 13,000 km (7,000 nmi; 8,100 mi) range would be followed by derated versions for 8,000 km (4,300 nmi; 5,000 mi). The market was lukewarm as airlines like Lufthansa, Hapag-Lloyd and Singapore Airlines were unimpressed by

8120-528: The 1971 estimate of 438 deliveries needed to break even on the program; however, according to Fielder, the DC-10 had not reached the breakeven point by the end of production. As the final DC-10s were delivered, McDonnell Douglas started production of its successor, the MD-11 , which was essentially a stretched derivative of the DC-10-30. In the late 1980s, international travel was on the rise thanks to lower oil prices and more economic freedom , leading to

8265-580: The A300. Before introducing the A300, Airbus identified nine possible variations designated B1 through B9. A tenth variant, the A300B10, was conceived in 1973 and developed into the longer-range Airbus A310 . Airbus then focused its efforts on single-aisle (SA) studies, conceiving a family of airliners later known as the Airbus A320 family , the first commercial aircraft with digital fly-by-wire controls. During these studies Airbus turned its focus back to

8410-473: The A330 and A340, and on 12 May sent sale proposals to the most likely candidates, including Lufthansa and Swissair . From the beginning of the TA9's development, a choice of engines from the three major engine manufacturers, Rolls-Royce , Pratt & Whitney , and GE Aviation , was planned. GE Aviation first offered the CF6-80C2 . However, later studies indicated that more thrust was needed to increase

8555-451: The A330 became the first aircraft to receive ETOPS–240 approval, which has since been offered by Airbus as an option. As of September 2024, the global A330 fleet of 1,471 aircraft had 12 years average aircraft age (≈2.5 years for A330neo), opened more than 350 new city pairs since the launch of the Boeing 787 in 2011, and accumulated more than 65 million flight hours since its entry into service with 99.2% operational reliability. With

8700-429: The A330 program; the A330's financial impact was magnified amid problems in the A350 and A380 programs. In February 2015, Airbus announced another production rate cut to six aircraft per month in the first quarter of 2016. This would extend A330ceo production to July 2017, allowing for a smooth transition to A330neo production, which was set to start in spring 2017. In February 2016, Airbus announced it would re-increase

8845-630: The A330 using in-service experience. Airbus suggested that the A340 and the A330 were essentially identical except for their engine number, and that the A340's experience could be applied to the A330's ETOPS approval. The plans were for all three engine types to enter service with 90-minute approval, before increasing to 120 minutes after the total A330 fleet accumulated 25,000 flight hours, and then to 180 minutes after 50,000 flight hours, in 1995. Aer Lingus and Cathay Pacific were two important airlines assisting Airbus in this endeavour by building up in-service flight hours on over-ocean flights. In November 2009,

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8990-637: The A330-200 would offer nine per cent lower operating costs than the Boeing 767-300ER. The plane was aimed at the 11,900 km (6,430  nmi ; 7,390  mi ) sector, where Airbus predicted demand for 800 aircraft between 1995 and 2015. The project, with US$ 450 million in expected development costs, was approved by the Airbus Industrie Supervisory Board on 24 November 1995. The A330-200 first flew on 13 August 1997. The sixteen-month certification process involved logging 630 hours of test flights. The A330-200's first customer

9135-876: The A330-200F dedicated freighter , the A330 MRTT military tanker , and the ACJ330 corporate jet. The A330 MRTT was proposed as the EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45 for the US Air Force's KC-X competition, but lost to the Boeing KC-46 in appeal after an initial win. In July 2014, Airbus announced the re-engined A330neo ( new engine option ) comprising A330-800 and -900, which entered service with TAP Air Portugal in December 2018. With

9280-595: The Advanced Common Flightdeck, which has "significant commonality" with that of the MD-11, thus eliminating the flight engineer and permitting the aircraft, re-designated MD-10 , to be flown by a flight crew of two. Three independent hydraulic systems are present. The flight controls actuate many of the flight control surfaces across the airliner via these hydraulic circuits. The critical nature of these circuits and their vulnerability to damage in

9425-466: The Airbus A330-200F, a freighter derivative of the A330-200, around 2001. The freighter has a range of 7,400 km (4,000 nmi; 4,600 mi) with a 65 tonnes (140,000 lb) payload, or 5,900 km (3,200 nmi; 3,700 mi) with 70 tonnes (150,000 lb). The plane utilises the same nosegear as the passenger version; however, it is attached lower in the fuselage and housed in

9570-459: The American aerospace company Convair . The legal relationship between McDonnell Douglas, Convair, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would later serve to complicate matters; specifically, Convair was forbidden from contacting the regulator no matter the severity of any safety concerns it had in the DC-10's design. On February 19, 1968, in what was supposed to be a knockout blow to

9715-579: The Americas, and one with the Panamanian start-up Cargo Three , also in the Americas. Non-airline operators included Omega Aerial Refueling Services with three DC-10 based KDC-10 tanker aircraft , the USAF with its 59 KC-10s, and the 10 Tanker Air Carrier with four modified DC-10-30s used for fighting wildfires. Orbis International has used a DC-10 as a flying eye hospital. Surgery is performed on

9860-449: The Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 "jumbo jets" have four engines each (quad-jets), but the upcoming Boeing 777X ("mini jumbo jet") is a twinjet. In the mid-2000s, rising oil costs in a post- 9/11 climate caused airlines to look towards newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Two such examples are the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB . The proposed Comac C929 and C939 may also share this new wide-body market. The production of

10005-469: The DC-10 achieved a long-term safety record comparable to those of similar-era passenger jets. The DC-10 outsold the similar Lockheed L-1011 TriStar due to the latter's delayed introduction and high cost. Production of the DC-10 ended in 1989, with 386 delivered to airlines along with 60 KC-10 tankers. It was succeeded by the lengthened, heavier McDonnell Douglas MD-11 . After merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, Boeing upgraded many in-service DC-10s as

10150-399: The DC-10 had been involved in 55 accidents and incidents , including 32 hull-loss accidents, with 1,261 occupant fatalities. Of these accidents and incidents, it has been involved in nine hijackings resulting in one death and a bombing resulting in 170 occupant fatalities. Despite its poor safety record in the 1970s, which gave it an unfavorable reputation, the DC-10 has proved to be

10295-572: The DC-10's completion in light of the prospective competition and the high financial stakes involved. Together with American Airlines' announcement of the DC-10 order, it was also reported that American Airlines had declared its intention to have the British Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan engine on its DC-10 airliners. The DC-10 was first ordered by launch customers American Airlines with 25 orders, and United Airlines with 30 orders and 30 options in 1968. The DC-10's similarity to

10440-590: The DC-10-based Tanker 910 and the 747-200 -based Evergreen Supertanker . Some wide-body aircraft are used as VIP transport. To transport those holding the highest offices, Canada uses the Airbus A310 , while Russia uses the Ilyushin Il-96 . Germany replaced its Airbus A310 with an Airbus A340 in spring 2011. Specially-modified Boeing 747-200s ( Boeing VC-25s ) are used to transport

10585-518: The DC-8 (61, 62 and 63 models), as well as longer versions of Boeing's 707 (-320B and 320C models) and 727 (-200 model); and Douglas' DC-9 (-30, -40, and -50 models), all of which were capable of accommodating more seats than their shorter predecessor versions. The wide-body age began in 1970 with the entry into service of the first wide-body airliner, the four-engined, partial double-deck Boeing 747 . New trijet wide-body aircraft soon followed, including

10730-596: The L-1011. Further models and derivatives of the DC-10 have been considered; perhaps the most radical of these being an unpursued twin-engined model akin to the Airbus A300 . However, following a spate of fatal accidents, particularly the American Airlines Flight 191 crash (the deadliest aviation accident in US history) orders for the DC-10 had nosedived by 1980, the type having garnered a poor reputation that

10875-560: The Lockheed L-1011 in design, passenger capacity, and launch date resulted in a sales competition that affected the profitability of both aircraft. On August 29, 1970, the first DC-10, a series 10, conducted its maiden flight . An extensive flight test program was carried out, totaling 929 flights and 1,551 flight hours; the test program was not incident-free: during one ground test in 1970, an outwardly-opening cargo door blew out and resulted rapid pressurization changes that caused

11020-720: The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the L-1011 TriStar. The first wide-body twinjet , the Airbus A300 , entered service in 1974. This period came to be known as the "wide-body wars". L-1011 TriStars were demonstrated in the USSR in 1974, as Lockheed sought to sell the aircraft to Aeroflot. However, in 1976 the Soviet Union launched its own first four-engined wide-body, the Ilyushin Il-86 . After

11165-466: The United States, and banning all DC-10s from U.S. airspace. These measures were rescinded five weeks later on July 13, 1979, after the slat actuation and position systems were modified, along with stall warning and power supply changes. In November 1979, the FAA fined American Airlines for removing the engine and its pylon as a single unit in its maintenance procedure, thus damaging the structure and causing

11310-578: The United States, and the former Yugoslavia. With funding in place, Airbus launched the A330 and A340 programmes on 5 June 1987, just before the Paris Air Show . At that time, the order book stood at 130 aircraft from ten customers, including lessor International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Of the order total, forty-one were for A330s. In 1989, Asian carrier Cathay Pacific joined the list of purchasers, ordering nine A330s and later increasing this number to eleven. The wing-to-fuselage mating of

11455-422: The accident resulted from slow response and incorrect actions by the crew during the recovery. This led to a revision of A330 operating procedures. Air Inter became the first operator of the A330, having put the aircraft into service on 17 January 1994 between Orly Airport , Paris, and Marseille . Deliveries to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Thai Airways International were postponed to address delamination of

11600-409: The aeroplane on the ground. Its MTOW grew from 212 tonnes (467,000 lb) at introduction to 242 tonnes (534,000 lb) in 2015, enhancing its payload-range performance. John Leahy states that originally the A330 was intentionally being held down in takeoff weight and performance in order to avoid overlapping with the A340. The airframe of the A330 features a low-wing cantilever monoplane with

11745-616: The aircraft's aerodynamic and structural limits. Airbus intended the A330 to compete in the Extended-range Twin-engine Operation Performance Standards (ETOPS) market, specifically with the Boeing 767. (ETOPS is a standard that allows longer range flights away from a diversion airport for aircraft that have met special design and testing standards.) Instead of the "ETOPS out of the box" or "Early ETOPS" approach taken by Boeing with its 777, Airbus gradually increased ETOPS approval on

11890-515: The biggest investments, with Aérospatiale constructing a new Fr. 2.5 billion ($ 411 million) final-assembly plant adjacent to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in Colomiers ; by November 1988, the pillars for the new Clément Ader assembly hall had been erected. The assembly process featured increased automation, such as robots drilling holes and installing fasteners during the wing-to-fuselage mating process. On 12 March 1987, Airbus received

12035-417: The cabin is used for crew rest areas and galley storage. The term "jumbo jet" usually refers to the largest variants of wide-body airliners; examples include the Boeing 747 (the first wide-body and original "jumbo jet"), Airbus A380 ("superjumbo jet"), and Boeing 777-9 . The phrase "jumbo jet" derives from Jumbo , a circus elephant in the 19th century. Aircraft are categorized by ICAO according to

12180-485: The cancellation of its A340 orders. The first completed A330 was rolled out on 14 October 1992, with the maiden flight following on 2 November. Weighing 181,840 kg (401,000 lb), including 20,980 kg (46,300 lb) of test equipment, the A330 became the largest twinjet to have flown until the first flight of the Boeing 777 . The flight lasted five hours and fifteen minutes during which speed, height, and other flight configurations were tested. Airbus intended

12325-674: The capacity of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar or DC-10, and 8.46 metres (27.8 ft) longer than the Airbus A300. By June 1985, the TA9 and TA11 had received more improvements, including the adoption of the A320 flight deck , digital fly-by-wire (FBW) control system, and side-stick control. Airbus had developed a common cockpit for their aircraft models to allow quick transition by pilots. The flight crews could transition from one type to another after only one week's training, which reduces operator costs. The two TAs would use

12470-415: The cargo door design to be dangerously flawed, as the door could be closed without the locking mechanism fully engaged, and this condition was not apparent from visual inspection of the door nor from the cargo-door indicator in the cockpit. The NTSB recommended modifications to make it readily apparent to baggage handlers when the door was not secured and also recommended adding vents to the cabin floor so that

12615-499: The cargo door, but the basic design remained unchanged, and problems persisted. On March 3, 1974, in an accident circumstantially similar to American Airlines Flight 96, a cargo-door blowout caused Turkish Airlines Flight 981 to crash near Ermenonville , France, in the deadliest air crash in history at the time—346 passengers and crew died. The cargo door of Flight 981 had not been fully locked, though it appeared so to both cockpit crew and ground personnel. The Turkish aircraft had

12760-536: The company instead proceeded with an entirely new aircraft, the A350 XWB . Initially, the GE90 was only one of three Boeing 777 options, and GE Aviation then-CEO Brian H. Rowe would have paid for the development of putting it on an A330; however, Airbus' strategy for long-haul was the four-engine A340 , missing the market favouring twins. Responding to lagging A300-600F and A310F sales, Airbus began marketing

12905-423: The competing Lockheed L-1011 , George A. Spater , President of American Airlines, and James S. McDonnell of McDonnell Douglas announced American Airlines' intention to acquire the DC-10. This was a shock to Lockheed and there was general agreement within the U.S. aviation industry that American Airlines had left its competitors at the starting gate. According to Fielder, McDonnell Douglas had been urgently pursuing

13050-647: The conversions. On January 8, 2007, Northwest Airlines retired its last remaining DC-10 from scheduled passenger service, thus ending the aircraft's operations with major airlines. Regarding the retirement of Northwest's DC-10 fleet, Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association said, "The DC-10 is a reliable airplane, fun to fly, roomy and quiet, kind of like flying an old Cadillac Fleetwood . We're sad to see an old friend go." Biman Bangladesh Airlines

13195-407: The core, then the engines may be shipped on a Boeing 747 Freighter. The General Electric GE9X , powering the Boeing 777X, is wider than the GE90 by 15 centimetres (6 in). The 560 tonnes (1,230,000 lb) maximum takeoff weight of the Airbus A380 would not have been possible without the engine technology developed for the Boeing 777 such as contra-rotating spools. Its Trent 900 engine has

13340-463: The crash of American Airlines Flight 191 , the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily banned all DC-10s from American airspace in June 1979. In August 1983, McDonnell Douglas announced that production would end due to a lack of orders, as it had widespread public apprehension after the 1979 crash and a poor fuel economy reputation. As design flaws were rectified and fleet hours increased,

13485-454: The distance required when landing. Despite being considerably larger, the landing speed of the DC-10 was comparable to that of the contemporary Boeing 727 . The primary flight controls of the DC-10 consist of inboard and outboard ailerons , two-section elevators , and a two-section rudder ; the secondary flight controls comprise leading edge slats , spoilers , and a dual-rate movable horizontal stabilizer . The vertical stabilizer with

13630-496: The door appeared secure, but the internal locking mechanism was not fully engaged. When the aircraft reached approximately 11,750 feet (3,580 m) in altitude, the door blew out, and the resulting explosive decompression collapsed the cabin floor. Many control cables to the empennage were cut, leaving the pilots with very limited control of the aircraft. Despite this, the crew performed a safe emergency landing. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators found

13775-428: The doors do not occupy otherwise usable interior space when open. To overcome the outward force from pressurization of the fuselage at high altitudes, outward-opening doors must use heavy locking mechanisms. In the event of a door lock malfunction, there is greater potential for explosive decompression . On June 12, 1972, American Airlines Flight 96 lost its aft cargo door above Windsor, Ontario . Before takeoff,

13920-409: The engine separation, rather than removing the engine from the pylon before removing the pylon from the wing as advised by McDonnell Douglas. On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crashed at Sioux City, Iowa , after an uncontained engine failure of the tail engine earlier in the flight disabled all hydraulic systems and rendered most flight controls inoperable. The flight crew, assisted by

14065-599: The exclusive, more efficient Trent 7000 turbofan and improvements including sharklets , it offers up to 14% better fuel economy per seat . The first-generation A330s (-200, -200F, and -300) are now called A330ceo ( current engine option ). Delta Air Lines is the largest operator with 72 airplanes in its fleet as of October 2024. A total of 1,835 orders have been placed for the A330 family, of which 1,615 have been delivered and 1,469 are in service with 148 operators. The global A330 fleet had accumulated more than 65 million flight hours since its entry into service. The A330

14210-479: The fan size from 94 in (2.39 m) to 100 in (2.54 m), enabling the engine to deliver 311 kN (69,900 lbf) of thrust. Like the CF6-80E1, 34 blades were used instead of the 38 found on the smaller PW4000 engines. In preparation for the production of the A330 and the A340, Airbus's partners invested heavily in new facilities. In south-western England, BAe made a £ 7 million investment in

14355-492: The feature was rejected because of cost and difficulty of development. A true laminar flow wing (a low-drag shape that improves fuel efficiency) was also considered but rejected. With necessary funding available, the Airbus Supervisory Board approved the development of the A330 and A340 with potential customers on 27 January 1986. Its chairman Franz Josef Strauss stated afterwards that Airbus Industrie

14500-449: The first A330, the tenth airframe of the A330 and A340 line, began in mid-February 1992. This aircraft, coated with anti-corrosion paint, was rolled out on 31 March without its General Electric CF6-80E1 engines, which were installed by August. During a static test, the wing failed just below requirement; BAe engineers later resolved the problem. At the 1992 Farnborough Airshow , Northwest deferred delivery of sixteen A330s to 1994, following

14645-564: The first MD-10 flew on April 14, 1999. The new cockpit eliminated the need for the flight engineer position and allowed common type rating with the MD-11. This has allowed companies such as FedEx Express , which operated both the MD-10 and MD-11, to use a common pilot pool for both aircraft. The MD-10 conversion now falls under the Boeing Converted Freighter program where Boeing's international affiliate companies perform

14790-491: The first orders for the twinjet. Domestic French airline Air Inter placed five firm orders and fifteen options , while Thai Airways International requested eight aircraft, split evenly between firm orders and options. Airbus announced the next day that it would formally launch the A330 and A340 programmes by April 1987, with deliveries of the A340 to begin in May 1992 and A330 deliveries to start in 1993. Northwest Airlines signed

14935-763: The following year although approval by the JAA was delayed until April. The first delivery was subsequently made to the Etihad Airways cargo division, Etihad Cargo, in July 2010. On 25 September 2013 at the Aviation Expo China (Beijing Airshow), Airbus announced a new lower weight A330-300 variant, optimised for use on domestic and regional routes in high growth markets with large populations and concentrated traffic flows; China and India were recognised as prime targets. This variant could carry up to 400 passengers. The increased efficiency, however, comes more from

15080-597: The ground and the operating room is located between the wings for maximum stability. In 2008, Orbis replaced its aging DC-10-10 with a DC-10-30 jointly donated by FedEx and United Airlines. The newer DC-10 was converted into an MD-10 configuration and began flying as an eye hospital in 2010. A modified DC-10 is operated by the Missile Defense Agency as the Widebody Airborne Sensor Platform (WASP). As of September 2015,

15225-492: The highest for any Airbus wide-body aircraft. In 2012, Airbus expected the A330 to continue selling until at least 2020, with the A350-900 expected to replace the A330-300. On 19 July 2013, Airbus delivered its 1000th A330 to Cathay Pacific. The A330 became the first Airbus wide-body airliner to reach 1,000 deliveries, and the fourth wide-body to achieve the milestone after the Boeing 747 , 767 , and 777 . As of January 2019,

15370-424: The initial flight being a round-trip flight between Los Angeles and Chicago. United Airlines also commenced DC-10 flights later that same month. American's DC-10s were configured to seat a maximum of 206 passengers while United's seated 222; both had six-across seating in first-class and eight-across (four pairs) in coach. They operated the first version of the DC-10, referred to as the "domestic" series 10, which had

15515-532: The initial power capability from 267 to 289  kN (60,000 to 65,000  lbf ). GE enlarged the CF6-80C2 fan from 236 to 244 centimetres (92.9 to 96.1 in) and reduced the number of fan blades from 38 to 34 to create the CF6-80E1 with a thrust of 300–320 kN (67,000–72,000 lbf). Rolls-Royce initially wanted to use the 267 kN (60,000 lbf) Trent 600 to power Airbus's newest twinjet and

15660-458: The installation of more seats than any weight reduction. On relatively short, yet congested routes, the A330 competes against single-aisle jetliners. While the A330's operating costs in these conditions are not far above those of the Boeing 737 or Airbus A321, the A320neo and 737 MAX promise more efficiency. Where the frequency of flights cannot be increased, using larger aircraft, such as the A330,

15805-522: The large Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380 four-engine, long-haul jets has come to an end as airlines are now preferring the smaller, more efficient Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 twin-engine, long-range airliners. Although wide-body aircraft have larger frontal areas (and thus greater form drag ) than narrow-body aircraft of similar capacity, they have several advantages over their narrow-body counterparts, such as: British and Russian designers had proposed wide-body aircraft similar in configuration to

15950-463: The larger GE90-115B has a fan diameter of 325 centimetres (128 in). This is almost as wide as the 3.30 metres (130 in) Fokker 100 fuselage. Complete GE90 engines can only be ferried by outsize cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 , presenting logistics problems if a 777 is stranded in a place due to emergency diversions without the proper spare parts. If the fan is removed from

16095-475: The laser weapons testing on the Boeing YAL-1 . Other wide-body aircraft are used as flying research stations, such as the joint German–U.S. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Airbus A340, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747 four-engine wide-body aircraft are used to test new generations of aircraft engines in flight. A few aircraft have also been converted for aerial firefighting , such as

16240-493: The last decades, most of the wide-body aircraft built today have only two engines. A twinjet design is more fuel-efficient than a trijet or quadjet of similar size. The increased reliability of modern jet engines also allows aircraft to meet the ETOPS certification standard, which calculates reasonable safety margins for flights across oceans. The trijet design was dismissed due to higher maintenance and fuel costs compared to

16385-543: The launch of Airbus A330neo, the existing members of the Airbus A330 family (A330-200, 200F, 300, and MRTT) received the Airbus A330ceo ("current engine option") name. Wide-body aircraft By comparison, a typical narrow-body aircraft has a diameter of 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft), with a single aisle, and seats between two and six people abreast. Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for

16530-462: The long-range A330-500, favouring a more refined short-range design. Lack of airline demand made lessors interest wane and as ILFC would order as 30 -500s, it would be with converting rights to larger A330-200/300. To compete with Boeing's 7E7 (later 787), Airbus offered a minimum-change derivative called the A330-200 Lite in 2004. As the name indicated, this proposed variant would have had

16675-408: The main cabin's floor to collapse. This discovery and first effort at rectification led to a contract dispute between McDonnell Douglas and Convair over what changes were necessary and financial liability. Fielder alleges that McDonnell Douglas consistently sought to minimize and postpone any design changes to the DC-10, although this attitude was not an explicit policy. In July 1971, Convair outlined

16820-403: The models is that the series 10 has three sets of landing gear (one front and two main) while the series 30 and 40 have an additional centerline main gear. The center main two-wheel landing gear (which extends from the center of the fuselage) was added to distribute the extra weight and for additional braking. The series 30 had a typical load range of 6,220 miles (5,410 nmi; 10,010 km) and

16965-531: The plans for the DC-10-50 were abandoned after British Airways ordered the Lockheed L-1011-500 instead. Beginning in 1966, two-engine designs were studied for the DC-10 before the design settled on the three-engine configuration. Later, a big twin based on the DC-10 cross-section was proposed to Airbus as a 50/50 venture but was rejected. Then in 1971, a shortened DC-10 version with two engines

17110-434: The pressure difference between the cabin and cargo bay during decompression could quickly equalize without causing further damage. Although many carriers voluntarily modified the cargo doors, no airworthiness directive was issued, due to a gentlemen's agreement between the head of the FAA, John H. Shaffer , and the head of McDonnell Douglas's aircraft division, Jackson McGowen. McDonnell Douglas made some modifications to

17255-495: The production rate from 6 to 7 per month, in response to new A330 orders. In April 2018, as a result of weakening demand, Airbus announced further rate cuts to 4-5 aircraft a month (50 per year) in 2019. In 2019, Airbus delivered 53 A330s (including 41 A330neos), including some delayed from 2018, and was set to reach a rate of 40 per year, to reflect softer demand for wide-bodies, as the backlog reached 331 (including 293 A330neos) − or 8.3 years' worth of production. The last A330-200

17400-412: The rudder is mounted on top of the tail engine banjo while the horizontal stabilizer with its four-segment elevator is attached to the sides of the rear fuselage conventionally. The DC-10 is equipped with retractable tricycle landing gear . To enable higher gross weights, the later –30 and –40 series have an additional two-wheel main landing gear, which retracts into the center of the fuselage. The DC-10

17545-626: The same range and payload as the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 but with 25 per cent better fuel efficiency, the B9 was seen as a viable replacement for the DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar trijets. It was also considered as a medium-ranged successor to the A300. At the same time, a 200-seat four-engine version, the B11 (which would eventually become the A340) was also under development. The B11

17690-524: The series 10 and 30 engines were General Electric CF6 . Prior to taking delivery of the aircraft, Northwest's president asked that the "series 20" aircraft be redesignated "series 40" because the airliner was much improved over the original design. The FAA issued the certification for the series 40 on October 27, 1972. In 1972, the DC-10's listed unit cost was reportedly US$ 20M ($ 146 million in 2023 prices). The series 30 and 40 were longer-range "international" versions. The main visible difference between

17835-417: The situation in a formal memo; almost a year later, it internally expressed concerns that the inadequate resolution would lead to loss of aircraft. Tragically, the initial rectification work would prove to be inadequate. On July 29, 1971, the FAA issued the type certificate for the DC-10, permitting its entry into revenue service. It entered commercial service with American Airlines on August 5, 1971, with

17980-404: The smaller lower level is typically used for storage for baggage and food preparation; elevators are usually present to carry people and carts between the two levels. As originally designed, the floor of the main cabin was not strong enough to withstand full pressure differential, yet key control lines are routed through this floor, an approach that proved to be a key vulnerability. The DC-10

18125-475: The structure weight. When necessary, the A330 uses the Honeywell 331–350C auxiliary power unit (APU) to provide pneumatics and electrical power. The A330 shares the same glass cockpit flight deck layout as the A320 and the A340, featuring electronic instrument displays rather than mechanical gauges. Instead of a conventional control yoke , the flight deck features side-stick controls, six main displays, and

18270-557: The success of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines began seeking larger aircraft to meet the rising global demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines demanded more passenger seats per aircraft, longer ranges and lower operating costs. Early jet aircraft such as the 707 and DC-8 seated passengers along either side of a single aisle, with no more than six seats per row. Larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher ( double-deck aircraft ), or wider in order to accommodate

18415-598: The success of the early wide-body aircraft, several subsequent designs came to market over the next two decades, including the Boeing 767 and 777 , the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 , and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 . In the "jumbo" category, the capacity of the Boeing 747 was not surpassed until October 2007, when the Airbus A380 entered commercial service with the nickname "Superjumbo". Both

18560-500: The tail area led to the addition of hydraulic fuses to prevent the total loss of fluid. Power for the hydraulics was derived from primary and reserve engine-driven pumps equipped on each of the three engines. Hydraulic power was required for flight control, there was no provision for reverting to manual flight control inputs. A proposed version of the DC-10-10 with extra fuel tanks, 3 feet (91 cm) extensions on each wingtip, and

18705-636: The test flight programme to comprise six aircraft flying a total of 1,800 hours. On 21 October 1993, the Airbus A330 received the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certifications simultaneously after 1,114 cumulative airborne test hours and 426 test flights. At the same time, weight tests came in favourable, showing the plane was 500 kg (1,100 lb) underweight. On 30 June 1994,

18850-524: The top of the wing, severing the leading edge slat actuator hydraulic lines. The slats retracted under the aerodynamic forces , causing the left wing to stall . This, combined with asymmetric thrust due to the missing engine, caused the aircraft to rapidly roll to the left, descend, and crash, killing all 271 people on board and two on the ground. Following the crash, the FAA withdrew the DC-10's type certificate on June 6, 1979, grounding all U.S.-registered DC-10s and those from nations with agreements with

18995-407: The total engine weight counteracting moment is located more outboard with more engine weight located further outboard on the wing, hence the wing root bending moment with equal TOW is less on the A340-300 than on the A330-300. The A340 has a longer range and heavier payload, while the A330 has better fuel economy over the same distance. The wings were designed and manufactured by BAe, which developed

19140-542: The upcoming McDonnell Douglas MD-11 . However, the company later agreed to develop an engine solely for the A330, the Trent 700 , with a larger diameter and 311 kN (69,900 lbf) of thrust. The A330 became the first Airbus aircraft for which Rolls-Royce supplied engines. Similarly, Pratt & Whitney signed an agreement that covered the development of the A330-exclusive PW4168 . The company increased

19285-490: The wide-body aircraft market, simultaneously working on both projects. In the mid-1970s, Airbus began development of the A300B9, a larger derivative of the A300, which would eventually become the A330. The B9 was essentially a lengthened A300 with the same wing, coupled with the most powerful turbofan engines available. It was targeted at the growing demand for high-capacity, medium-range, transcontinental trunk routes. Offering

19430-428: Was ILFC; these aircraft were leased by Canada 3000 , who became the type's first operator. As Airbus worked on its A330-200, hydraulic pump problems were reported by both A330 and A340 operators. This issue was the suspected cause of a fire that destroyed an Air France A340-200 in January 1994. On 4 January of that year, a Malaysia Airlines A330-300, while undergoing regular maintenance at Singapore Changi Airport ,

19575-537: Was around 4,000 nautical miles but subsequent refinements increased the range of newer models to 5,000 nautical miles and by 2015, the range was 6,100 nautical miles. In response to a decline in A330-300 sales, increased market penetration by the Boeing 767-300ER , and airline requests for increased range and smaller aircraft, Airbus developed the Airbus A330-200. Known as the A329 and A330M10 during development,

19720-403: Was consumed by a fire that started in the right-hand main undercarriage well. The incident caused US$ 30 million in damage, and the aircraft took six months to repair. Consequently, operators were advised to disable electrical pumps in January 1997. In 1996 Airbus evaluated a 12-frame stretch which would be able to carry 380 passengers over almost 7,000 km (3,800 nmi; 4,300 mi),

19865-451: Was delivered to OpenSkies (operating for LEVEL ) on October 1, 2019, registered F-HLVN (subsequently reregistered EC-NNH in 2021). The last A330-300 built was registered EI-EIN and flown to Brussels Airport on February 28, 2020; Aer Lingus took delivery on 4 March 2020. At the time, four completed A330-300s for troubled Hong Kong Airlines were still undelivered. A330 MRTT /KC-30B and BelugaXL production both continue alongside that of

20010-519: Was first delivered to TAP Air Portugal on 26 November. The -800 made its first flight on 6 November 2018, aiming for a mid-2019 type certification and delivery in the first half of 2020. Airbus announced in February 2011 that it intended to raise production rates from seven-and-a-half/eight per month to nine per month in 2012, and ten in 2013. Production increased to 10 aircraft per month in April 2013,

20155-504: Was for a four-engine double-deck wide-body jet airliner with a maximum seating capacity of 550 passengers and similar in length to a DC-8 . The proposal was shelved in favor of a trijet single-deck wide-body airliner with a maximum seating capacity of 399 passengers, and similar in length to the DC-8 Super 60. Large portions of the detailed design work, particularly that of the fuselage, were subcontracted to external companies, such as

20300-525: Was originally planned to take the place of narrow-body Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s then in commercial use, but would later evolve to target the long-range, wide-body trijet replacement market. To differentiate from the SA series, the B9 and B11 were re-designated as the TA9 and TA11, with TA standing for "twin aisle". Development costs were reduced by the two aircraft using the same fuselage and wing, with projected savings of US$ 500 million. Another factor

20445-461: Was primarily operated by the United States Air Force . Early operations of the DC-10 were afflicted by its poor safety record, which was partially attributable to a design flaw in the original cargo doors that caused multiple incidents, including fatalities. Most notable was the crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in Paris in 1974, the deadliest crash in aviation history up to that time. Following

20590-424: Was proposed as a competitor to the Airbus A300 . McDonnell Douglas held a major presentation of the proposed DC-10 Twin at Long Beach, and several European airlines were willing to place orders. However on July 30, 1973, MDC's board decided not to give the proposed twin the go-ahead, as no US airline had ordered it. Later, more DC-10 Twin proposals were made, either as a collaboration with a European manufacturer or as

20735-438: Was the last commercial carrier to operate the DC-10 in passenger service. The airline flew the DC-10 on a regular passenger flight for the last time on February 20, 2014, from Dhaka , Bangladesh to Birmingham , UK. Local charter flights were flown in the UK until February 24, 2014. As of September 2024, two DC-10s are in commercial service, one with TAB Airlines , a Bolivian cargo airline operating scheduled flights in

20880-629: Was the split preference of those within Airbus and, more importantly, those of prospective customers; twinjets were favoured in North America, quad-jets desired in Asia, and operators had mixed views in Europe. Airbus ultimately found that most potential customers favoured four engines for their exemption from existing twinjet range restrictions and their ability to be ferried with one inactive engine. As

21025-503: Was widespread amongst the traveling public as well as prospective operators. Competitive pressure had also played a role, Boeing in particular had developed the 747SP variant specifically to better compete with the DC-10 and L-1011. In December 1988, the 446th and final DC-10 rolled off the Long Beach, California Products Division production line and was delivered to Nigeria Airways in July 1989. The production run had exceeded

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