Originally Posted by L-1011
I just looked it up in American Way: "Photography or video recording of airline personnel, equipment, or procedures is strictly prohibited". Seems like a picture similar to that from the Ryan plane would be prohibited on AA as well.
Probably this is to prevent people from taking pictures of the cockpit. Once you're on the plane, you're subject to AA's rules. You probably won't be arrested but you might be asked to leave. In the terminal, you can pretty much do what you want. If you're not flying AA that day, there's really nothing AA can do about it.