Fokker F-10

The Fokker F-10 was an enlarged development of the Fokker F.VII airliner, built in the late 1920s by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America. It was a trimotor passenger aircraft, and it carried 12 passengers. This was four more than the F.VII it was based on, and it had a larger wing and more powerful engines than that design. A crash of this aircraft in 1931, lead to widespread reforms in the U.S. aviation industry and hurt the reputation of wooden winged' aircraft, especially the Fokker Tri-motor types.

Operational history
Fokker built 65 for commercial and military service. After the crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air F-10 in 1931, killing Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others, which was caused by the deterioration of the wooden wing spar, the type was temporarily grounded, and it was required to undergo more frequent and rigorous inspection. Its public image was also greatly damaged, leading to its early retirement from U.S. airlines.

Variants

 * F-10
 * Initial production variant.


 * F-10A
 * Improved and revised 14-passenger variant powered by three 420 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engines, often called the Super Trimotor.


 * C-5
 * United States Army designation for the evaluation of one re-engined F-10A powered by three Wright R-975 radials.


 * LB-2
 * Light bomber version.


 * RA-4
 * United States Navy designation for the evaluation of one F-10A.

Civil operators

 * 🇺🇸 United States
 * American Airways
 * TWA
 * Pan Am
 * Universal Airlines
 * Western Air Express (launch customer )
 * Boston-Maine Airways
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * Mexicana
 * Aerovias Centrales

Military operators

 * 🇺🇸 United States
 * United States Army Air Corps designations C-5 and C-7A.

Accidents and incidents

 * On June 10, 1929, a Pan Am F-10, registration NC9700 and named Cuba, struck telephone wires and crashed while taking off from Santiago de Cuba bound for Havana, killing two of five on board. The aircraft failed to gain altitude due to a waterlogged runway.
 * On March 31, 1931, a Transcontinental & Western Air F-10 crashed near Bazaar, Kansas after a wing separated in flight, killing all eight on board, including football coach Knute Rockne.
 * On March 19, 1932, an American Airways F-10A, registration NC652E, struck power lines in heavy fog and crashed into an orchard near Calimesa, California, killing all seven on board.
 * On September 8, 1932, an American Airways F-10, registration NC9716, crashed into a mountain in poor weather near Salt Flat, Texas, killing three of four on board.