Northwest began DC-10 operations in 1972 with a Pratt & Whitney JT9D-powered -40, adding the General Electric CF6-50-powered -30 in 1989. The fleet peaked in 2001 at 45 DC-10s – 24 -30s and 21 -40s.

One of Rients’ favorite stories involves a flight on a Northwest DC-10 in the late 1980s. She was working in the back galley when a boy in his late teens showed up, his face white with worry.

Northwest retired the last of its DC-10 aircraft from scheduled service Jan. 8, ending a 34-year run in which the airline used them to carry more than 125 million passengers, complete more than ...