The first of two which were built. First flew in 1975. Stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1979. To the Pima Air Museum in 1981. 53 is a Paris Airshow code and CX001 is its Davis-Monthan park code. Returned to flying status as N15YC in 1996. Damaged in an emergency landing at Palmdale in 1998. To Edwards AFB in 2008 and preserved.

The YC-15 was McDonnell Douglas's entry for the Advanced Medium STOL Transport. Two aircraft were built with this first one loaned to the Pima Air and Space Museum after the program ended. Re-activated in 1996 to develop the larger McDonnell Douglas C-17, the test aircraft suffered a catastrophic number one engine failure and made an emergency landing at Palmdale, CA on July 11, 1998. In 2008 the aircraft was moved by road to Edwards AFB where it was placed on display..

Still carrying the AMARC inventory number CX001 on the nose.

The YC-15 was the McDonnell Douglas entry against the Boeing YC-14 in the Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) competition. This, the first of two, made her maiden flight on 28.8.75 and was later used as a CFM-56 engine test-bed. Registered as N15YC 4.97; moved from Palmdale to Edwards AFB in 4.08 and now displayed near the west gate (Rosamond) in the Century Circle. Although neither design was adopted, McDonnell Douglas later of course went on to develop the successful C-17 Globemaster III