N922TW

Manufactured at the McDonnell Douglas facilities in Long Beach, California, serial number 48013 holds a notable place in production history as line number 1000 of the DC-9/MD-80 family. The twinjet completed its maiden flight on July 26, 1981, originally built as an MD-81 model. It was formally delivered to Swissair on September 4, 1981, bearing the registration HB-INO, serving European trunk routes for over a decade during the carrier's classic jetliner era.

In June 1997, the aircraft was re-registered as N922TW and entered service with Trans World Airlines (TWA) after undergoing an engine and systems conversion to MD-82 specifications. Stationed within TWA's domestic network, the aircraft became a staple of short-to-medium haul passenger routes. Following American Airlines' acquisition of TWA's assets in December 2001, N922TW was integrated into American Airlines' extensive MD-80 'Super 80' fleet, retaining its registration while wearing American's polished bare-metal livery.

N922TW's active commercial career came to an end in the early 2000s as American Airlines began rationalizing and streamlining its acquired fleet. The aircraft was officially withdrawn from airline service on April 15, 2003, and ferried to Roswell Industrial Air Center (ROW) in New Mexico. Accumulating over 52,600 total airframe hours across more than 41,000 flight cycles, it was subsequently transferred to aviation asset management companies including Jet Midwest Group and Frontera Flight Holdings, where it remained parked in desert storage for part-out and eventual scrapping.