In 1979, when American Airlines Flight 191 crashed, this was a crash that grounded the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 fleet for several months until new procedures for engine replacement and modified "stick shakers" were installed on the plane.
And interesting "what if" was if the FAA--who already had to deal with the defective cargo door issue that caused a THY Turkish Airlines DC-10 to crash outside Paris--decided there was too many technical issues with the DC-10 and ordered the permanent grounding of the plane (far out as it may seem in the OTL!).
In my humble opinion, I think this would have happened in the alternate timeline:
1. McDonnell-Douglas would have been forced to file for bankruptcy from the loss of the DC-10 program (the F-15 and F-18 programs wouldn't be enough to save the company), and there would be a bidding war between Boeing and Lockheed for McD assets. DC-9 production would likely end if Boeing snaps up the bankrupt McD, as Boeing will convert many outstanding DC-9 and MD-80 orders into 737-300/400/500 orders.
2. Lockheed would get a surge in sales of the L-1011, and Lockheed may pursue a twin-engined widebody airliner based on L-1011 components.
3. Boeing may experience a much larger initial order book for the 767-200 and 767-300 models as airlines scramble to replace widebody capacity lost due to the permanent grounding of the DC-10.
4. Airbus ends up selling more A300B's, and the A300B4-600 and 600R programs start earlier. American Airlines' original 34-plane A300B4-600R order could end up being doubled in size to 70 planes as the 600R's take the place of the phased-out DC-10's.
And interesting "what if" was if the FAA--who already had to deal with the defective cargo door issue that caused a THY Turkish Airlines DC-10 to crash outside Paris--decided there was too many technical issues with the DC-10 and ordered the permanent grounding of the plane (far out as it may seem in the OTL!).
In my humble opinion, I think this would have happened in the alternate timeline:
1. McDonnell-Douglas would have been forced to file for bankruptcy from the loss of the DC-10 program (the F-15 and F-18 programs wouldn't be enough to save the company), and there would be a bidding war between Boeing and Lockheed for McD assets. DC-9 production would likely end if Boeing snaps up the bankrupt McD, as Boeing will convert many outstanding DC-9 and MD-80 orders into 737-300/400/500 orders.
2. Lockheed would get a surge in sales of the L-1011, and Lockheed may pursue a twin-engined widebody airliner based on L-1011 components.
3. Boeing may experience a much larger initial order book for the 767-200 and 767-300 models as airlines scramble to replace widebody capacity lost due to the permanent grounding of the DC-10.
4. Airbus ends up selling more A300B's, and the A300B4-600 and 600R programs start earlier. American Airlines' original 34-plane A300B4-600R order could end up being doubled in size to 70 planes as the 600R's take the place of the phased-out DC-10's.