Actually I think the Options reason makes more sense. But again it could be a combination of both.
MarketWatch says "AMR at the end of the third quarter held about $12 billion debt and another $7 billion in pension liabilities, versus $4.1 billion in unrestricted cash."
Thats (-12+-7) - 4.1 = -$14.9 Billion. What are the chances that anyone is holding onto a share for a payout? On the other hand someone could have shorted the stock at $1 and is looking for the highest he can get. Again I'm sure there's more than one answer here.