American was the airline instrumental for the launch of the DC-10. The requirement was for an airliner that could serve LAX-Chicago non-stop. In August 1971, American was the first to put the DC-10 into service. The airliner served American faithfully for 25 years before finally retiring in 1996, replaced by 767s and the MD-11. The type is noteworthy for the horrible May, 1979 crash at O'Hare which cast doubt on the entire aircraft and resulted in an unprecedented grounding of the nation's entire DC-10 fleet. The accident was eventually traced to faulty maintenance methods. This model is unique as it is featured in the 1964-68 livery. With the new (and current) livery introduced in 1968, American obviously never flew the DC-10 in the scheme seen here.