MESA, Ariz. — Large firefighting air tankers like the DC-10 that is now stationed in Mesa at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport are a reassuring sight but their use has been somewhat controversial. Some ...

An inside look at a DC-10 Tanker used to mitigate wildfires If you live in Montana, you’ve probably seen a DC-10 Tanker flying in the sky on its way to help put out wildfires. If you live in Montana, ...

Captain RK Smithley flies McDonnell Douglas DC-10 fire bombers for New Mexico-based 10Tanker. Smithley dropped red fire retardant over the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles. Mountainous terrain ...

US-based aerial firefighting specialist 10 Tanker believes it will not be badly affected in the near-term by the emergency grounding order for McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. The company operates a fleet of ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thousands of firefighters and volunteers have been working over the last week to tackle the Los Angeles wildfires. Helping in that fight is Albuquerque-based 10 Tanker. Its fleet ...

HOUSTON – I was asked this question about the Pauline Road Fire by Jackie Chassion. She asks, “Why are they not utilizing the big DC-10 aircraft retardant fire and water aircraft from California to ...

A DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker drops a huge load of retardant on the Burro Fire northeast of Tucson in the Coronado National Forest on June 30, 2017. Video by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star ...

US regulators have extended the grounding order imposed on the Boeing MD-11 to include variants of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, owing to their similar engine pylon structure. The grounding was ordered ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Captain RK Smithley, a pilot flying McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebody airliners converted into tanker planes for a New Mexico-based company called ...