MD-11's Fatal Flaw Made it a Cargo Star 

I flew on the MD-11 about 4 years after they entered passenger service. Very smooth and quiet, even in economy, and best of all it had much larger passenger windows with incredible views. I miss them.

As a MD11 pilot for 13 years, it is a great pilots aircraft. Unbelievable performance that needs to be respected . You have to be on your top game all of time especially during landing. High approach speeds during landing and the aerodynamics make it a challenging experience.

I flew all over the world as a Field Engineer for General Electric Company in the late 1970's to mid 1980's. The 747 and the DC-10 were my favorite aircraft. On May 25, 1979, I was booked to fly home for my vacation at my parent's house in Los Angeles. I was booked on Eastern from Albany, NY, to Chicago O'Hare, where I would take American 191 to LAX. Right out in front of the Schenectady Holiday Inn while waiting for a cab to the airport, I got a very strange feeling of dread, hopelessness, and despair for no reason at all. I was never afraid to fly. But that morning, as soon as it hit me that ''I'm not getting on any airplane today, even if they fire me'', the feeling evaporated and was replaced with a feeling like standing under a warm tropical waterfall. I cancelled my plan to go home, had the cab take me to the office where they assigned me to a job in Venezuela. I had several pre paid open return tickets to fly from Albany to JFK, a very nice 1 hour flight in a Metroliner.....but I took a miserable 4 hour ride by Greyhound Bus instead because of that strange feeling. I got my passport stamped at the Venezuelan Consulate in Manhattan, checked into the Lexington Hotel, and booked flights for the next day from JFK to Miami to Caracas to Maracaibo. It had been a terribly stressful week so I took a nap all afternoon until evening. I awoke and called my parents in LA to tell them of my change in plans and they were crying and sobbing badly. They assumed that I was coming home on AA191 as planned and was killed in the big crash. AA191 crashed just taking off from Chicago and killed all 271 people on board and 2 poor guys at work on the ground. The very next day, I flew on two DC-10's and a DC-9 to get to Maracaibo. I did not have the slightest apprehension about flying and rather enjoyed the ride over the Caribbean Sea. I loved window seats. The FAA grounded all DC-10's and it left me stranded in Venezuela for 8 more days. I was the last standby passenger to board an ancient worn out Boeing 707 to get back to Miami. It was my first and last 707 ride. I loved DC-10's even after the crash but never flew on an MD-11.

I flew the MD11 as FO & Captain for Fedex. The HUD was a great addition, especially in crosswind landings. Still, you had to bring your A game everyday. Loved it.

My father ended a nearly 40 year aviation career flying DC-10s for National and the Pan Am. He retired in 1991. Since 1942 he had flown large aircraft from all of the large companies- Douglas, Boing and Lockheed. The DC-10 was one of his favorites, with the Lockheed Electra being a close second.

Didn’t fly it but worked with the MD-11 for years as a load master for FedEx. This airplane was so easy for those of us that did the weight and balance. So very forgiving. Topside was a breeze to load bellies sometimes caused us a little difficulty. I know the pilots didn’t always like it but the flare at landing was always a site to see. Nothing like it. All the newer aircraft land so flat.

Interestingly, MD-11's production as a freighter continued even after MD's acquisition by Boeing.

I recall one airline was unhappy with the MD-11 because they were promised performance that wasn't delivered. They wanted to fly from San Jose, CA to Tokyo non-stop but with that performance short-fall and runway length, they couldn't take-off with a full passenger/cargo load in San Jose. So they ended up flying to Oakland to get full fuel load and then fly to Tokyo. Cargo doesn't care about fuel-stops whereas passengers don't like it.

Algorithm brought you to me, glad it did. Very well done video.

Is this AI written? Starting to sound like a bunch of videos are AI

The DC-10 and MD-11 were always my favorite airplanes and in my opinion the nicest to look at!

I flew the MD11 for over 16 years as captain. Great airplane.

Love the DC-10/MD-11 line!

Worked as a subcontractor for UPS as a ramp agent, and the MD-11 crews despised it, due to it often being delayed 1hr+ for about 3-4 days a week. They considered it a good day if it got off the ground without any delays. And over the last winter season I worked as a deicer, and these things were a pain if it was snowing, since you had to check the third engine intake for contamination, but to get close enough you needed one of the wing engines shut down so the truck could move into position. But despite that, they are always an incredible sight to see flying, and it's a shame to know their numbers are dwindling.

I still get to fly on them…it really is a beast.

Excellent, hopped on a KLM from Memphis to Amsterdam. MD 11 had 80 hours on it, super sweet I think seven primary flight displays, crew members were taking turns switching out doing a thing or two while at Cruise. This is when they let us into the cockpit to check it out. 1996.

One of the coolest planes ever!

I was lucky enough to fly on the KLM MD-11 when I was only 18 months old MEM-AMS, along with flying on the NWA DC-10 when I was 9. Now I get to see all the FedEx MD-11's when spotting.

So the MD-11 succeeded in freight service for much the same reason as a great many Hondas were sold in my city recently - they all popped onto the market at the perfect time to get scooped up by willing buyers, and being quality machines they tend to serve their new operators well.

The MD-11 should have been a twin-engine jet. McDonnell Douglas might still be around.

It was great view to see many Northwest DC-10s and MD-11 parked in PHX

The bloodthirsty trijet who refused to die. Weird body but amazing computers that made it smart as hell. I miss it.

Very high quality video for a small channel! good luck!

Look .. the single bigges reason the dc10 /md11 lives on in cargo is because of the cross section of the 747 combie frieghter. It set the standard before douglas even thought about making it a cargo variant. These tri jets can take the identical frieght that a 747 can handle ( lower MGTOW ) . Other than the 777 no other airframe can match its capabilities of these flying fossils

I flew a few times on that plane with KLM between YUL and AMS. I've always had a good travel experience.

I only flew an MD-11 once with JAL (J-Bird) from Frankfurt (FRA) to Kansai (KIX) . I very smooth flight .

I flew on an MD-11 from SFO to LHR many years ago. It was a KLM half passenger half cargo. An amazing aircraft.

I had the pleasure of flying on an MD-11 three times, twice with Swissair and once with KLM. Great video, very informative and concise!

That fourth set of wheels is just bizarre!

Looking at the 90s and early 2000s, MD-11 was pretty much the only airplane its size class on the cargo market. Below it was Boeing 767-300 and Airbus A300, and above only the giants such as Boeing 747 and military planes like Antonov AN-124 and Lockheed C-5. Not until the end of the 2000s did cargo planes at similar size come around with A330-200F and Boeing 777F.

Worked with FedEx and Lufthansa Cargo on the MD11F. Not easy to get in trim as it was very nose heavy when full (blame the big stretch forward of the wing) but you felt good when you did it right. Good cooperation with the warehouse guys was key. They needed to load the really dense stuff on the pallets that would go in the tail and the last few pallets had quite specific contours due to the fuselage tapering. loading had to be done in proper sequence. At FedEx we had a weight cart that we strapped the nosewheel to but at LH we did without.

Russian here. About 6 or 8 years ago in the waiting lines to the doctor's office i ran into some older crew who said, they used to fly them. I was surprised to learn, that airlines in my country owned MD-11s at some point. Those pilors said, they loved them, by that time (in the 90ies) they seemed better designed than Boeings.

One thing about this plane. When you're loading the cargo pallets you got to be careful. The plane has a aft CG its tail heavy with that aft engine. Use step loading procedure

MD-11's fatal flaw was the flame isolation wich made it a fire hazard Yet it was comfortable and good

Flew on DC-10s a number of times. Favorite ride: Across the Pacific from LA to Honolulu to Micronesia and back. A very comfortable round trip. Also, a very nice ride from MSP to Paris and back.

Lovely video....this is A+ production.....you will become a major youtuber if you keep this up.....greetings from the Caribbean :) !!!

Loaded/unloaded for a freight company last year, got qualified on Boeings, MD’s, and A300’s. We all sighed deeply whenever we were assigned an MD. Smart aircraft for a purchaser, a maintenance crew, and for a ramp agent, but a nightmare for a loading crew. The strange center of gravity means that you have to load it in a sequence. Front bellies are ALWAYS first, or the plane would rip out its nose tether and fall on its back. If there’s an unlocked ULD (we called ‘em cans) halfway thru loading, it could tear a hole thru the tail. You need the opposite sequence for unloading. This load sequence wouldn’t be a problem, but planes are unloaded by 2 crews at a time who had to communicate. Oh, and let’s talk about the ‘90’s technology in the door locks, the ULD rails (some had old quick-detach rails, some had “butterflies” borrowed from Boeing), and the almost-useless auto-loaders in the belly compartments. Essentially, one in 4 cans would get stuck, to various severity each time. It took strapping young lad strength to wiggle them loose or push them in place. Oh, and remember this thing’s carrying capacity? Yeah, it’s unreal. But that means the heaviest cans, heavier by tons, got assigned to these. Well, these and 777F’s… but those were a dream. Upper deck on 777F is done with auto-rollers and joysticks. Uppers on MD’s are entirely manual. We hated loading MD’s but took pride in it. The freight companies love this ugly plane but probably won’t miss it.

LOVE this airplane!!!

0:21 1:20 “mcdonald” 😭😭

I love the look. Honestly.

My favorite plane...sadly never got to ride it.

Keep up the good work 💪

Do keep in mind that the MD11 was a Douglass DC-10 from after the merger - SAME basic design, some updates mostly to stuff like the electronics and engines, to try to keep it competative. But it still lost out on efficiency to the larger twin-jets that were starting to show up at the time, thanks to ETOPS rule easing. But cargo airlines are not as worried about squeezing every last cent, they can afford to use older LOW COST used aircraft.

I once went plane spotting in Frankfurt when Lufthansa Cargo still operated this beast, in the terrace of terminal 2, when an MD11 took off from 25C it was the only aircraft that day that managed to shake the ground of the terrace, no kidding, and it was beautiful

Used to be working for the cargo office of Thai Airways Zurich, Switzerland, which was served with a daily turn around BKK-ZRH-BKK service, sometimes with extensions to both AMS and BRU with a fleet of four MD11s, registered HS-TMD/E/F and G. Although those were long haul PAX flights, the aircraft offered a good cargo payload capacity of 20 metic tons with a full PAX load for an eleven hour flight. We frequently were limited in the available volume in the cargo holds rather than by TOFW limitations.

Ive flown on a DC10 from Manchester to Orlando with monarch

I can see cargo carriers using the MD-11 for another 100 years.

The predecessor DC-10 didn’t do as well with passengers as a result of the Turkish crash near Paris (cargo door) and the AA crash at ORD (engine separation due earlier flawed maintenance procedure) Between the bad PR associated with the 10 carrying over to the 11, and more fuel-efficient twins, the MD-11 never had much passenger success.

So the lower fuel efficiency demands makes this less desirable for passenger planes, thus the price drops and the cargo companies are willing to take it on because they care more about size. Got it, this took way too long to say that.

My last trip aboard an MD11 (back in 2004) we were over the Atlantic when you could smell a sort of burning plastic odor. The pilots informed us that the aircraft was experiencing an "electrical issue" and we would be making an unscheduled landing in Frankfurt. Probably wasn't too serious, as there were many other, closer airports to choose from if there was any sort of real, we need to get on the ground ASAP emergency, but it still makes me wonder to this day just what exactly happened. Been flying for over 30 years and that's the only incident I've experienced.

Flew the MD-11 many times with SR and then LX, and twice with KL as well. They felt dated compared to an A340 or 777 to be honest, and the landings were harsh. But boy did they look cool! To this day I have a model of an LX MD-11 on my desk.

Wasn't that plane fast as heck?

0:57 ‘twin-engined widebodies’ *shows clip of A320*

I flew in a DC10 from MSP to AMS and I remember it being fast and (sitting in the back) a bit odd having noise from above on take off 😂😂😂. I'm glad I flew on one, just the once tho 🥰🥰

In early days it must have had a significant advantage not having to fly ETOPS routes over twin engine cargo carriers.

My first international flight to Brazil was on the MD - 11

Nice video

Flew on a couple with Swiss Air about 20 years ago to the States and back to South Africa.

The best window seat in aviation is the jump seat behind the captain on the DC10/MD11. It is absolutely huge.

Excellent video! Well-researched and an exceptional presentation! While waiting for a flight at Heathrow, I tried to get a closer look at an MD 11on a jetway but was chased away by a British pilot coming the opposite way. Come to think of it, it was in 1980 and it was actually a Lockheed TriStar!

My first trip to Europe was on a Martinair MD11. I’m an air traffic controller at Memphis and we love MD11s for their amazing climb rate

Flew roundtrip STO-HON on a Delta DC-10 back in the 90s. It was an enormous aircraft and the flights had many empty seats. It was a bit noisy.

I flew on one of these years ago, with KLM. Have to say I didn't notice anything bad about the landing, despite being nervous about flying on a non Boeing or Airbus aircraft. I also had no idea they were not that common for passenger services.

I agree the MD-11F is definitely a solid choice; but only on short to medium routes. Being less expensive than the 777F is effectively it's only advantage, as current 777Fs can do the same thing but with lower operating costs the further the flight goes. That extra fuel burn on the old McD is really going to hurt if you take it out too far.

Viasa livery. Nice

It was very tail heavy and had a tendency to pitch nose up. I would have still preferred the L-1011 for it's smoother ride.

The old CAPEX vs OPEX proposition.

My first flight was with an LTU MD11.

I’m pretty sure I flew on a contracted trijet when my unit deployed to Iraq in 2009. Might have been an MD-11. It was some company that I’d never heard of before or since.

Some companies had issue with at least one version of engine built in MD11, at least before some upgrade fixed it : under specific circumstances, fan blades would crash against hauling at rotation. So a usual jokes under MD11 pilots asked where they were heading to was to answer : "Well -next waypoint of start place- and then we make a decision" For readers non familiar with aviation: it equates being asked by your neighbour where you are driving today to answer : "Well, until next road cross and then assess if my car may go further"

Would have been better to show one of the "tail stall" nose slam landings.

I ended up on a ex-swiss now NWA dc10-30 in 2002 on DTW-AMS. I was scheduled to fly on KLM & I dont know whether It was to be a md11 or 747-400 or 767

I lived in Memphis so I have a special place for the MD11s

The Dodge Viper of widebodies.

MD should have stay independent of Boing. It just wasn't a good fit.

Everything sounds like AI

Not entirely sure about takeoffs and landings per flight hour. They fly both medium and long haul, just like they would have in passenger ops. But they still do have fewer cycles overall. One big reason for using older jets like these in cargo flying is simple: ground time. A jet on the ground makes no money. And cargo aircraft spend A LOT of time sitting. They have greatly reduced daytime schedules compared to airlines where they generally go 24/7 except for maintenance cycles and some overnights. I have been lucky to be able to jumpseat on the MD-11. It is quite a machine. Coasting out over the grass on the other side of the runway in that long nose before lining up and then the seriously steep initial climb is something else.

The way things are going right now with Boeing, the 777f will go bust before it even gets a chance to haul anything.

I think the MD-11 was an excellent passenger aircraft. I flew it to europe many times from both LAX and DTW.

This is a rocket on 12 wheels.

I got to fly on the KC10s

Flew on both pax and cargo MD11,s

I can’t be the only one who noticed then Twin Towers at 0:38?

Also as a pilot you can't just go from one airframe to another you have to get certified on the new plane that means if you flew for Fed Ex back when all they had was DC-10' s and MD-11's which you had to be certified on both even though they are just about the same when Fed Ex switched to the 767 all their pilots had to get certified in the new plane and someone has to pay for that and my guess is since Fed Ex did away with the MD11 they had to pay for all the new training and certifications

If fuel economy is so problematic? Why can't they turn of 3rd engine while cruising? Or may be run only on 3rd engine while cruising?

KLM was the last airline that operated the passenger version.

I helped build this bird.

DC10, most comfortable airliner I ever flew.

Wants to KC10 was on its wheels I worked on it until it was delivered to the Air Force 🤔

I helped build this plane in Long Beach, CA.

Why does it have 202 feet?

Trijet or Three Holer

1:22 hmmmm

0:38 I miss the tt:(

Pushing cargo in a md 11 is not a star is down right dangerous

The md11 is decent and it runs well as a freighter though it had a massive issue from it’s theirs engine were it breaks itself Mid flight A lot of bad crashes occurred from it Like fed ex 14 Which landed to hard United airlines flight 93 ? Still have no clue what happened to it There’s a funeral for it in my city San jose

I wish McDonnel Douglas was a separate company again. They built some of the greatest iconic jets ever. F-4, A-4, F/A-18, A-1, C-17, MD-11, DC-9/MD80/B717 (Yes the A-12 was a debacle) Convince me Otherwise....

Death Star.

Air Nederland?! Do you mean KLM?

You should be more popular