Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10

DC10-46983Scrapped

RegistrationUSN909WA

Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation register

OperatorDelta Air Lines

11operators

0incidents

0accidents

0logbook years

0photos

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 built in 1978 in Long Beach. Operated for Western Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Interlink Airlines Pty. Scrapped.

NewNearly newYoungMatureAgingOld

Old · 27 years · ≈ 75,600 flight hours (approx.)

Delta Air Lines opera parte de su flota con aeronaves de mayor edad, pero bajo programas de mantenimiento rigurosos que garantizan operaciones muy seguras. La antigüedad de un avión no determina por sí sola su seguridad: lo decisivo es un mantenimiento estricto y constante.

Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Technical data

ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas

First flight1978

Built inLong Beach, California (EE. UU.)

Country of registrationEstados Unidos

MSN46983

VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

The model · McDonnell Douglas DC-10

Figures for the DC-10-30 variant, the most representative of the family · it is 53% the length of a football pitch

Length55.4 m182 ft

Wingspan50.4 m165 ft

Height17.6 m58 ft

Range9,630 km5,200 NMWith a typical passenger load

Cruise speed871 km/h470 ktMach 0.82

Service ceiling12,800 m41,995 ftIt flies above Everest (1.4 times its height)

Maximum take-off weight267,619 kg589,998 lb

Maximum payload146,877 kg323,808 lbIts 255 passengers with baggage would weigh about 25.5 t; the rest is fuel and cargo

Typical capacity255 passengersUp to 380 in a high-density layout

Endurance11 h 03 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

With its 9,630 km range, from Manchester, Greater Manchester it could fly non-stop as far as:

HKGHong Kong9,620 km GRUSão Paulo9,538 km NRTNarita9,473 km GIGRio De Janeiro9,341 km JNBJohannesburg9,317 km

Beyond its rangeBKKBangkok9,631 km

The type first flew in 1970 (56 years ago) · About 446 units built · Production ended in 1989

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Compare this aircraft

Airports

Airports of the airlines that have operated it

2000–2002Airtours International airline base

Base

MANManchester, Greater Manchester

2002–2004MyTravel Airways airline base

Base

BFSBelfast

since 2004Aero Africa airline base

Base

MTS

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

1978

Built

Assembled by McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, California (USA).

Jan 30, 1978

Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation

Delivered to McDonnell Douglas Corporation as N909WA.

May 18, 1978

Transferred to Western Airlines

Transferred to Western Airlines.

Jun 6, 1979

Airworthiness directive

On June 6, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft (registration N909WA), was subject to an airworthiness directive due to fatigue cracks in the engine pylon caused by an inadequate maintenance procedure, together with deficiencies in the slat and stall warning systems. Source: la FAA.

Source: la FAA

Apr 1, 1987

Transferred to Delta Air Lines

Transferred to Delta Air Lines.

Jun 14, 1988

Transferred to American Airlines

Transferred to American Airlines.

Nov 1, 1988

Transferred to Scanair

Transferred to Scanair.

Nov 1, 1993

Transferred to Sun Country Airlines

Transferred to Sun Country Airlines.

Apr 1, 1994

Transferred to Premiair

Transferred to Premiair.

May 1, 1995

Re-registered

Changed from SE-DHY to OY-CNY (still with Premiair).

Oct 1, 2000

Transferred to Airtours International

Transferred to Airtours International.

Sep 11, 2001

Grounded after 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the DC10-10 aircraft (registration N909WA), operated by American Airlines, was in the news. Source: the FAA (United States).

What happened

On 11 September 2001, after the attacks with hijacked aircraft on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon, the FAA ordered — for the first time in history — the complete closure of United States airspace (the SCATANA plan): all civil aviation was told to land immediately, and by midday the American sky was clear. Around 240 international flights bound for the United States were diverted to Canada — Operation Yellow Ribbon, with more than 30,000 passengers. Airspace reopened gradually from 13 September, by then under new security measures. Source: the FAA (United States).

Source: FAA

Feb 1, 2002

Transferred to MyTravel Airways

Transferred to MyTravel Airways.

Oct 1, 2004

Transferred to Aero Africa

Transferred to Aero Africa.

Nov 1, 2004

Transferred to Global Aviation Operations

Transferred to Global Aviation Operations.

Jun 1, 2005

Transferred to Interlink Airlines Pty

Transferred to Interlink Airlines Pty.

Operators

1978-01-30

McDonnell Douglas Corporation

Registration N909WA

1978-05-18

Western Airlines

Registration N909WA

1987-04-01

Delta Air Lines

Registration N909WA

1988-06-14

American Airlines

Registration N909WA

1988-11-01

Scanair

Registration SE-DHY

1993-11-01

Sun Country Airlines

Registration SE-DHY

1994-04-01

Premiair

Registration SE-DHY

1995-05-01

Premiair

Registration OY-CNY

2000-10-01

Airtours International

Registration G-TDTW

2002-02-01

MyTravel Airways

Registration G-TDTW

2004-10-01

Aero Africa

Registration 3D-MRQ

2004-11-01

Global Aviation Operations

Registration ZS-GAW

2005-06-01

Interlink Airlines Pty

Registration 3D-MRQ

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Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983

MLA

“McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc10_46983,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC10-46983 |title=McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · N909WA · Delta Air Lines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}