FBI report by SA Charles E. Farrell (Seattle) re NWA Flight 305 hijacking by 'D.B. Cooper' - synopsis, table of contents and 'The Hijack' section
Document date 16 February 1972
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Id: Cooper-Part-110:005-020
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-110:005-020 Document: FBI report by SA Charles E. Farrell (Seattle) re NWA Flight 305 hijacking by 'D.B. Cooper' - synopsis, table of contents and 'The Hijack' section Id: Cooper-Part-110:005-020 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-110%3A005-020 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
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FBI 164-81, Vault Part 110 pp. 5–20 (DB Cooper-295–310), Report, dated 16 Feb 1972 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-110%3A005-020
FD-204 (Rev. 3-3-59)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Copy to: 1 - USA, Seattle
Report of: SA CHARLES E. FARRELL Office: Seattle, Washington Date: February 16, 1972
Field Office File #: 164-81 Bureau File #: 164-2111
Title: UNKNOWN SUBJECT, aka Dan Cooper, NORTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT #305, PORTLAND, OREGON TO SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, 11/24/71
Character: CRIME ABOARD AIRCRAFT - HIJACKING; EXTORTION
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Synopsis: On 11/24/71, as Northwest Airlines (NWA) Flight #305 was taxiing to the runway, at Portland International Airport, a white, male passenger handed a note to Stewardess [REDACTED] advising, "Miss I have a bomb here and would like you to sit by me." The cockpit was advised of the hijacking and in contact with NWA officials, it was agreed by the pilot and NWA, that no intervention by law enforcement was desired. The hijacker then demanded $200,000 and four parachutes, which were to be ready at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) by 5:00 PM that date. After circling Sea-Tac for a period of time, plane landed at Seattle, at 5:46 PM and refueling was begun. Stewardess [REDACTED] acted as liaison in communica- ting hijacker's desires to the crew and also in bringing the money and parachutes on board. After the $200,000 was obtained by [REDACTED] and given to the hijacker, he allowed passengers to leave but not the crew. After the four parachutes, maps, food and radio were on board, he permitted the other two stewardesses to depart the plane. Hijacker instructed that they were going to Mexico City, but he finally agreed that the plane should go to Reno, Nevada, with flaps down, landing gear down and at under 10,000 feet altitude. Plane departed Sea-Tac at 7:46 PM and shortly after being airborne, he sent [REDACTED] to First Class Section and shortly thereafter the airstairs were lowered as signaled by a light in the cock- pit. Last communication from the hijacker was 8:05 PM, while the plane was flying on Vector 23, which is a southern heading between Seattle and Portland. At 8:11 PM, an "oscillation" or "pressure bump" of a serious nature was noted by the crew and they speculated, later confirmed by actual experiment on 1/6/72, that the pressure bump was probably caused by the hijacker leaving the aircraft. Search of the airplane on
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This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
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arrival at Reno, reflected no fingerprints of known value. A black tie and tie tack was found which possibly belonged to the hijacker. The hijacker very carefully demanded that each and every note either written by him or dictated to the stewardesses, be returned to him and he also had a used match cover returned to him. Extensive search of the probable drop area in southwestern Washington negative. Numerous suspects investigation, but with negative results.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES
THE HIJACK------------------------------------------------- 5-19
INTERVIEWS WITH WITNESSES---------------------------------- 20-79
CREW:
[REDACTED] Stewardess; --------------- 21-36 [REDACTED] Stewardess; ----------------------- 37-53 b6 [REDACTED] Stewardess; ----- 54-56 b7C [REDACTED] Second Officer; -------- 57-58 [REDACTED] Third Officer; 59-63 WILLIAM A. SCOTT, Pilot. --------------------- 64
NORTHWEST AIRLINES EMPLOYEES AT PORTLAND--------------- 65-67
[REDACTED] ---------------------------- 66 [REDACTED] ---------------------------- 67
PASSENGERS--------------------------------------------- 68-79
[REDACTED] -------------------- 69-71 b6 [REDACTED] -------------------- 72-73 b7C CORD HARMS ZRIM SPRECKEL; ------------------- 74-75 [REDACTED] ------------------------- 76 [REDACTED] ------------------------- 77-79
INTERVIEWS WITH PASSENGERS------------------------------- 80-86
LOGS BY NORTHWEST ORIENT AIRLINES, SEATTLE AND MINNEAPOLIS --------------------------------- 87-141
Teletype logs, Ground Operations, Sea-Tac; 87-106 Handwritten logs by [REDACTED] NWA, Sea-Tac; ---------------------------------------- 107-122 b6 Handwritten logs by b7C Flight Dispatcher-Instructor; ------------------- 123-129 Handwritten logs by [REDACTED] [REDACTED] NWA, Sea-Tac; ----------------------- 130-132 Logs maintained by [REDACTED] Flight Operations, Minneapolis. ----------------- 133-141
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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES
FAA TAPES AND RECORDINGS-------------------------------- 142-225
Seattle, Washington;--------------------------- 142-200 Oakland, California;--------------------------- 201-209 Reno, Nevada.---------------------------------- 210-225
PARACHUTES---------------------------------------------- 226-234
EARL J. COSSEY--------------------------------- 229-231
RANSOM MONEY-------------------------------------------- 235-241
WEATHER------------------------------------------------- 242-247
COURSE OF THE AIRCRAFT (WITH MAPS)---------------------- 248-255
SEARCH AREA (WITH MAPS)--------------------------------- 256-275
Original Search Area;-------------------------- 258-261 Amended Drop Area.----------------------------- 271-275
BOEING 727 - TECHNICAL DATA----------------------------- 276-279
EXPERIMENT WITH AIR STAIRS------------------------------ 280-285
SEARCH OF AIRCRAFT AT RENO------------------------------ 286-292
SEARCH OF FLIGHT PATH----------------------------------- 293-296
PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - INVESTIGATION AT------- 297-298
AIRPORTS, FLYING CLUBS, FLIGHT SCHOOLS, PARACHUTE CLUBS 299-304
AIRLINE TICKET------------------------------------------ 305-307
BLACK SNAP-ON TIE AND TIE TACK------------------------- 308-309
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE--------------------------------------- 310-313
ARTIST'S SKETCH----------------------------------------- 314-322
DESCRIPTIVE DATA---------------------------------------- 323-334
COMPOSITE DESCRIPTION----------------------------------- 335-336
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THE HIJACK
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At approximately 3:22 PM, 11/24/71, [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Northwest Airlines (NWA), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), tele- phonically advised the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Division, FBI, that a man on board NWA Flight #305, at that time airborne and inbound from Portland, Oregon, had passed word to the pilot that the passenger had a bomb in his briefcase and demanded $200,000 and para- chutes. He instructed that the money and parachutes be ready at Sea-Tac by 5:00 PM that date; that no one was to meet or approach the aircraft and that he would advise later what his flight plans were.
NWA Flight #305, a Boeing 727 Tri-Jet, plane designation N467US, originated at Washington, D.C., leaving there at 8:30 AM, 11/24/71. The plane made stops at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Great Falls, Montana; Missoula, Montana; Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The schedule for the flight called for a departure from Portland, at 2:45 PM, with the plane arriving in Seattle, the termina- tion of the flight at 3:21 PM, PST.
The plane did make the scheduled stops at the above cities and departed from Portland at 2:53 PM, with 36 passengers, including, according to the manifest, "DAN COOPER." There was a crew of six:
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WILLIAM A. SCOTT, Pilot; [REDACTED] Second Officer; [REDACTED] Third Officer; [REDACTED] Stewardess; [REDACTED] Stewardess; [REDACTED] Stewardess.
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Due to construction at the Portland International Airport, the plane was loaded by way of the air stairs at the rear of the plane, instead of the front door. The second to last person to board, according to Stewardess [REDACTED] was a man who occupied seat 18-E and who later hijacked the airplane.
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[REDACTED] was responsible for the Tourist Section on the flight and, while the plane was still parked at the terminal area, she served refreshments to the Tourist Section.
The hijacker, in seat 18-E, was the first person served and asked for Bourbon and 7-Up, and he paid for it with a $20 bill. After serving the rest of the passengers in the Tourist Section, she gave the routine Oxygen Mask Usage and Escape Route demonstration. The take-off announcement was then given and she sat in the stewardess seat located in the rear of the plane, behind row 18, occupied by the hijacker.
The Boeing 727 has three seats on each side of the aisle. Row 18 is the last one on both the right and left side of the aisle. The seats are identified from left to right as you face the front of the aircraft with A, B, C on the left side of the aisle and D (aisle seat), E (center seat) and F (window seat) on the right side.
Almost flush against the back of row 18, except for some eight inches near the aisle, is a bulkhead which forms the wall for the lavatories, located behind row 18; one on the right and one on the left. Beyond the lavatory doors is the door leading to the air stairs.
The door to the air stairs is always closed and locked, except when loading or unloading passengers. It is located straight away at the end of the aisle beyond row 18 and is perhaps some 3½ feet from the last row and is in easy reach for someone sitting in row 18.
Built into the lower portion of the door to the air stairs, is the stewardess seat which is pulled down when in use, so that a person sitting in that seat looks straight down the aisle toward the front of the aircraft. On take-off, this seat was occupied by Stewardess [REDACTED]
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[REDACTED] advised that after she had been seated about 30 seconds and as the plane started taxiing toward the runway, the man occupying seat 18-E turned around and handed her an envelope. She did not open it at once, but after he glanced at her several times, she opened the en- velope and removed a note, neatly written with a felt tip pen which stated as follows:
"Miss - I have a bomb here and I
would like you to sit by me."
[REDACTED] after a few words with the hijacker, got up from her seat, dropping the note as she did so, and sat in seat 18-D next to the hijacker.
At this time [REDACTED] came to the rear of the aircraft and having seen the note fall to the floor, she then picked it up and read the above message concerning the hijack.
The plane lifted off the runway at 2:58 PM and as it did so, [REDACTED] used the interphone to advise the pilot that the plane was being hijacked. After advising the pilot of the situation, [REDACTED] replaced the phone and ob- served that [REDACTED] who was still seated next to the hijacker, was writing the following message on a piece of paper.
"I want $200,000 by 5:00 PM in cash.
Put it in a knapsack. I want two
back parachutes and two front
parachutes. When we land, I want
a fuel truck ready to refuel.
No funny stuff, or I'll do the
job."
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After [REDACTED] finished writing the note dictated to her by the hijacker, she got up from seat 18-D, and stepped to the rear of the aircraft and from [REDACTED] who was then on the interphone, obtained the note and envelope originally given to [REDACTED] by the hijacker.
[REDACTED] then took the hijacker's envelope and note, as well as the one she had written as dictated by him, and went forward to the cockpit to give them to the pilot. She was doing this while the plane was still taking off.
At this point [REDACTED] who had been on the interphone, came up and sat in seat 18-D (aisle) next to the hijacker in 18-E.
After [REDACTED] delivered the notes to the cockpit, she remained there at the instruction of the captain; however, after she had been seated in the cockpit for a few minutes, Stewardess [REDACTED] advised by the inter- phone that the hijacker wanted both the note he had written and the one [REDACTED] had written for him, to be returned to him. [REDACTED] then took both notes back to the hijacker.
Both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were shown the contents of the briefcase which the hijacker was holding on his lap, which he said contained a bomb. The contents of the briefcase were described as a device with eight red cylinders and a wire running from the cylinders toward a large 6"x8"x2" battery. The wire had a red plastic coating, except for the last inch, which was bare, and which the man held by his fingers. He told them it was an electrical device. He said the aircraft radio should be used as little as possible..
According to [REDACTED] Third Officer, the crew immediately contacted NWA via the company radio and did not alert the passengers nor did they press the Emergency Transponder Code Button, signaling a hijacking to the Control Towers, due to the hijacker's insistence of "no funny stuff."
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The pilot and NWA officials, after being apprised of the hijacking, were positive in their statements that they wanted no one else to go near the plane after its arrival at Sea-Tac, and wanted no interference in the re- fueling operation, or delivery of the money and parachutes.
The crew of the plane subsequently requested Seattle Approach Control for holding instructions in order that they could remain airborne long enough for NWA people at Sea-Tac to get the $200,000 and the four parachutes.
The passengers had been told that they were burning off excess fuel and had some mechanical difficulty.
During the approximate one hour and 15 minutes during which the plane circled over Sea-Tac, NWA representa- tives succeeded in obtaining $200,000 in used 20 dollar bills as well as two back parachutes and two chest parachutes.
During the flight from Portland to Seattle, [REDACTED] asked the hijacker why he picked on NWA. The hijacker replied,
"Its not because I have a grudge against
your airline, its just because I have a
grudge."
He then added that the flight suited his time, place and plans.
The money was obtained from the Seattle-First National Bank and delivered to NWA facilities at the airport by bank employees in an unmarked Seattle Police Department vehicle. The money was handed over to [REDACTED] NWA.
The two parachutes were obtained from [REDACTED] Renton, Washington, and taken to NWA facilities by taxi.
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The two chest parachutes were obtained from [REDACTED] at Issaquah, Washington. They were delivered to NWA facilities by Washington State Patrol, but because of heavy commuter traffic, their delivery was slowed.
The plane landed at Sea-Tac at 5:46 PM and was parked on an unlighted runway, away from the terminal and other traffic. The fuel trucks immediately began to refuel the plane and [REDACTED] and Seattle Police Department [REDACTED] [REDACTED] who had brought the money from the airport, approached the plane in the previously mentioned unmarked Seattle Police Department vehicle.
The flight stairs were positioned at the front door of the aircraft and [REDACTED] left the airplane and approached the car occupied by [REDACTED] where she picked up the money, parachutes, food, maps and radio for cockpit communication.
Just before [REDACTED] left the airplane for the first time, the hijacker got up from his seat with the attache case in his hands and went to one of the two lavatories just behind row 18.
All communications between the hijacker and the cockpit were through [REDACTED] by use of the interphone or by the notes delivered to the cockpit by [REDACTED]. The flight crew at no time talked to or saw the hijacker.
The briefcase was described by the three stewardesses as being a dark brown or black inexpensive, imitation leather attache case or briefcase. Stewardess [REDACTED] said the briefcase measured about 12"x18".
[REDACTED] passenger, observed the hijacker as he left the rest room and she said he was carrying the briefcase on its side in both arms and observed a package on top of the briefcase, which was approximately 4" deep and about 2" shorter than the width of the attache case. [REDACTED] further described the package as light in color, possibly very light yellow with a light pink tinge.
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[REDACTED] described the package merely as a small green package.
When [REDACTED] returned to the airplane, she brought the money in a white canvas bag and placed it on the seat, (18-D), next to the hijacker who immediately examined it and told her the passengers could leave.
All of the passengers at that point did deplane but the cockpit crew and the three stewardesses remained on board, per instructions of the hijacker.
[REDACTED] then left the airplane for a second time and brought back one back parachute. At this time the hijacker told her to lower all the window shades in his section of the aircraft.
[REDACTED] then left the airplane again and returned with the two chest parachutes and made an additional trip to bring in the other back parachutes. She also gave the hijacker a sheet of instructions on how to use the parachutes, but he told her he did not need it.
[REDACTED] advised that when she returned with the second back parachute, the hijacker was cutting open one of the chest parachutes with a pocketknife and cut some of the nylon cords. He then took the nylon cord, wrapped it around the neck of the money bag numerous times and then wrapped it a few times from top to bottom. With the same piece of nylon, he then made a loop-like handle at the top.
By this time, only the money and parachutes had been brought on board. [REDACTED] then asked the hijacker if she should go out and get the maps, food and radio, to which he replied in the affirmative. She then went out and brought back the above items. It is noted that all of the crew was still on board at that time.
At some time after the passengers had deplaned and before the stewardesses left, the hijacker was observed strapping on one of the back packs.
Up to this time the hijacker had given no indication of their ultimate destination, but after the passengers had left the plane and the money and parachutes brought on, he told [REDACTED] when she asked what their future destination would be, not to worry; that the plane was not going to Havanna, but it would go to a
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"pleasant place." [REDACTED] said she then obtained a pay sheet and took down the following instructions from the hijacker:
"We're going to Mexico City - or any
place in Mexico - nonstop - gear down
- flaps down - you can trim the flaps
to 15, you can stop anywhere in Mexico
to refuel but nowhere in the United
States. The aft door must be open
and the stairs down. The altitude
under 10,000 feet, they know they
can't go over that. Cabin lights out
and everyone is to be forward of the
First Class Curtain."
When it was explained to the hijacker that the plane could not take off with the air stairs down, he supposedly said in a low tone,
"Yes they can, but the cockpit can put
it down after they get airborne."
These instructions were then given to the pilot. The above note written by [REDACTED] was then returned to the hijacker.
The stewardesses, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were then allowed to leave the plane.
The hijacker became upset because of the long delay on the ground and she told him it would be a few minutes longer while they filed a flight plan, to which he said,
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"Never mind. They can do that over the radio once they get up. Let's get the show on the road."
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[REDACTED] said that just before the engines were started, she opened the aft door and locked it open and as the plane was taxiing toward the runway, she told the hijacker that they had oxygen and he said,
"Yes, I know where it is and if I
need it, I will get it."
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She asked him to cut some of the parachute cord to use as a safety line when she opened the air stairs but the hijacker said,
"Never mind," that he would do it. She showed him where the controls for the air stairs were and how to operate them and thought later, that this was the only function of the aircraft which he did not seem to be fully aware of. As a matter of fact, she noted that his conduct during the flight indicated to her that he had an extensive technical knowledge of that particular type aircraft and perhaps aircraft and flying in general.
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[REDACTED] then returned to seat 18-C; the hijacker to 18-E; the money being on 18-D and the bomb on 18-F.
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Approximately four minutes after take-off, the hijacker stood up and told her to go to the cockpit; to close the First Class Curtains and have no one come out from behind the curtains. The lights were out in the rear compartment. She went forward into the First Class Section and as she pulled the curtains, she turned and saw the hijacker for the last time and noticed that he had a nylon cord tied around his waist and standing in the aisle. As
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she faced him, she pleaded with him to take the bomb with him and he said he would take it with him or disarm it before he left.
While waiting on the ground at Sea-Tac for the [redacted]parachutes, the hijacker became annoyed and [redacted] .old [redacted]him the parachutes were coming from McChord. The hi- ack[redacted] then said,"McChord is only 20 minutes from Tacoma; it doesn't take that long." [redacted] also noted that while they were in the holding pattern over Sea-Tac, the hijacker looked out the window and observed:
"We're over Tacoma now!"
[redacted] said there had been no announcement by anyone as to where they were.
The plane departed Sea-Tac at 7:36 PM. Some four or five minutes after take-off, [redacted] was sent to the cockpit by the hijacker. Some 10 minutes after she entered the cockpit, one of the officers received a call on the interphone from the hijacker, advising he could not get the air stairs down. The pilot then leveled off the aircraft and reduced the air speed. Within a very short time, the officer's panel showed that the stairs had been lowered and approximately five minutes later, (8:05 PM), the officer contacted the hijacker who said everything was okay. That was the last communication with the hijacker.
At 8:11 PM, while the plane was at 10,000 feet, the crew experienced a pressure bump or oscillation and the Cabin Pressure Rate of Change Gauge also reacted violently and it was thought, at that time, that the hijacker might have left the aircraft.
When the plane landed at Reno, at 11:01 PM, PST, it was parked away from the terminal. After receiving no answer through their attempts to communicate with the hijacker, they went into the cabin, flipped on the lights but saw no one.
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They then conducted a quick search in the aft section of the aircraft for the bomb, but found nothing. [REDACTED] looked in the lavatories; checked the oxygen bussels and crawled up the aisle looking under the seats. Nothing was found.
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[REDACTED] recalls that on landing at Reno, she observed two parachutes. One had been cut open but the other was intact. Both were on the left side of the aircraft, one in row 17 and one in row 18. The parachute that was opened was orange-pink in color.
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After take-off from Seattle, the hijacked plane was switched to automatic pilot. From a point shortly south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport until its landing at Reno, the hijacked plane was escorted by military aircraft. Jet fighters from McChord Air Force Base took up the escort on the plane's take-off but their speed was so fast, that they could not adequately surveill the hijacked aircraft which was flying at some 170 knots. In the vicinity of Redding, California, the surveillance was taken over by an Air Force C-130 which was better able to keep the hijacked airplane in range.
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