American Airlines donates DC-9-82 (MD-82) N290AA to Tulsa Tech

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth), the largest private employer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is donating one of its DC-9-80 (MD-80) aircraft to Tulsa Tech. The plane, specifically DC-9-82 (MD-82) N290AA (msn 49302), which American is retiring from its MD-80 fleet, will provide students in the Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) program at Tulsa Tech with an opportunity to gain practical experience by working on a commercial aircraft.

Tulsa Tech offers a cutting-edge, FAA-approved curriculum to train certified technicians who can repair, maintain and inspect aircraft. The donated MD-80 will provide students with hands-on experience as they hone their newly acquired skills.

A special donation ceremony was held today (March 4) at American’s Tulsa Maintenance & Engineering (M&E) Base, which employs more than 6,500 people. American’s Tulsa base is the world’s largest private maintenance facility, providing heavy maintenance work for its MD-80, Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Boeing 777 fleets. American’s Boeing 767 fleet is maintained at the airline’s maintenance facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The donated DC-9-82 aircraft was delivered to American on August 27, 1985. During its life, the aircraft traveled more than 36 million miles, or roughly 75 trips to the moon and back. If the aircraft had been operated continuously, without stopping, it would have flown for 3,055 days.

This is the fourth DC-9-80 (MD-80) aircraft American has donated for educational purposes. The other donations include:

February 9, 2011 – Aircraft provided to the Museo del Nino (Children’s Museum) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

May 20, 2010 – Aircraft provided to G.T. Baker Aviation School in Miami.

March 21, 2009 – Aircraft provided to the Miguel Such Vocational School in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The American Airlines Tulsa M&E Base has also donated other items to Tulsa Tech, including a Boeing 727 tail dock, wheels and brakes, CF-6 engines and an MD-80 nose cone. American maintenance employees have also volunteered their time to help instructors become experts on this new equipment.

American is replacing its DC-9-82/83 fleet with Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s. In July 2010, American announced it would order 34 additional 737-800s, to be delivered in 2011 and 2012. This order is in addition to the 84 new 737s that began entering American’s fleet in April 2009, when the company launched its replacement plan for its DC-9-82/83 fleet.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Sister-ship N73444 arrives at BWI.