February	Continental Airlines places an order for two DC-10-30s.
May 25th	American Airlines’ 46510/ 22 is assigned for flight AA191 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Two seconds before lift-off, engine #1 separates from the left wing, destroys a part of it and falls on the runway. The crew was only aware of a power loss. Less than a minute after take-off the aircraft exploded after hitting the ground, killing all people on board and two on the ground. The accident marks the darkest day in the history of the Mc Donnell - Douglas DC-10.
June 5th	Two of the aircraft, which have been inspected after the AA crash in Chicago, were found to have cracks in their wing pylons. Later, it was found out that they have been missed in the earlier inspection.
June 6th	Following the results of the new inspection, the FAA grounds the worldwide DC-10 fleet. This also affects the DC-10-30 and -40 models, although none of these aircraft had pylon cracks.
June 19th	Although the grounding order was still active, several european carriers resume DC-10 operations.
July 13th	Final examinations proved that the material fatigue causing the engine separation came from the application of maintenanca methods not complying with the manuals. American Airlines (as well as Continental Airlines) used a forklift to remove and attach the engine during maintenance. Convinced that the pylon fits the standards, the FAA reactivated the type certification. The DC-10 was back in the air!
September 1st	Aeroméxico and Mexicana order two DC-10-15 each.
October 31st	46929/ 107, a Western Air Lines DC-10-10, lands on a closed runway in Mexico City and hits contruction vehicles.
November 29th	On a scenic flight over the Antarctic, 46910/ 182, an Air New Zealand DC-10-30, crashes into Mount Erebus killing all people on board. The DC-10 gets bad publicity after three heavy accidents in a year.