American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) has donated its last two MD-80s - one MD-82 and one MD-83 - to CareerTech and Lewis University for training purposes following the end of McDonnell Douglas operations.
The carrier said in a statement that MD-82 N501AA (msn 49738) was ferried from storage at Tulsa International to Lewis University Airport (Romeoville) on December 20. It was the last MD-80 ferry flight operated by American Airlines.
"All 700 current Aviation and Transportation students will use the MD-80 at some point in their studies, however, it will primarily be used by nearly 200 students in the Aviation Maintenance Management program," the carrier said.
The other aircraft, MD-83 N9621A (msn 53592), was ferried from Tulsa to Oklahoma City Will Rogers World on December 19.
"The aircraft will be used to train students in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations, and the corresponding curriculum and training materials will be utilized at all CareerTech technology centers that provide aerospace training," American Airlines clarified.
The airline retired all 26 remaining MD-80s on September 4, 2019. The other 24 aircraft were ferried to Roswell for storage, while the two aircraft were kept at Tulsa Int'l.
