Interview of NWA stewardess aboard Flight 305
This copy: Part 110 pp. 25–30Also filed at Part 10 pp. 445–450 (primary)
This copy’s own title
Interview of NWA stewardess on Flight 305 re hijacking and description of subject
Interviewed 24 November 1971Dictated 26 November 1971
Another copy of this document is the primary, most legible copy: Part 10 pp. 445–450.
Copies may differ in what was redacted.
Also filed separately as sections:
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Id: Cooper-Part-110:025-030
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-110:025-030 Document: FD-302 interview of NWA stewardess on Flight 305 re hijacking and description of subject Id: Cooper-Part-110:025-030 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-110%3A025-030 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
A person reads every report. Corrections are made by hand, to the data — titles, dates, names, which pages belong together — never to the scans, and they can take a while to appear.
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 110 pp. 25–30 (DB Cooper-315–320), FD-302 interview, interviewed 24 Nov 1971 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-110%3A025-030
FD-302 (REV. 3-17-69)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
1 Date 11/26/71
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[REDACTED] home address [REDACTED] [REDACTED] home phone No. [REDACTED] advised that she is employed as a Stewardess by Northwest Orient Air- lines (NWA) and was serving in that capacity on NWA Flight 305 on November 24, 1971. [REDACTED] furnished the follow- ing information:
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[REDACTED] said that she was standing at the rear entrance to the plane, checking passengers onto NWA Flight 305 in Portland, Oregon. She said that the man, who she later learned was the hijacker, was next to the last person to board the plane. She said that the man did not appear suspicious and did not attract her attention.
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[REDACTED] said that after everyone had boarded the plane, she began serving refreshments, while the plane was still parked at the terminal area. She said that the hijacker was the first person she served. She said that he was sitting in Row 18, the last row of seats in the plane. She said that the hijacker sat on the righthand side of the plane in the middle seat of three seats on the righthand side.
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[REDACTED] said that she asked the man if he cared for anything to drink. She said the man replied that he would like Bourbon and 7-up. She fixed the drink for the man and was given a $20 bill. She said that she asked the man if he had anything smaller, and he replied, "No, I'm sorry."
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[REDACTED] said that he was very polite, and she told him that she could not give him change, until she served the rest of the people in the section. He replied that it would be alright. She said that after serving the entire tourist section, she returned to the man and gave him change for his $20 bill. She said that the man thanked her.
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[REDACTED] said that she then gave the routine oxygen mask usage and escape route demonstration. She said that the take-off announcement was then given, and she checked the passengers in the tourist section to be sure
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On 11/24/71 at Seattle, Washington File # SE 164-81
by SA [REDACTED] /kn Date dictated 11/26/71
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that their seatbelts were fastened. She then sat in the Stewardess seat located in the rear of the plane behind the hijacker's seat.
[REDACTED] said that after she had been seated for about 30-seconds, and as the plane started taxiing toward the runway. The hijacker turned around and handed her an envelope. She said that at first she thought he was making a pass at her and did not open it immediately. She said the man turned around and looked at her several times, and she felt that he was indicating that he wanted her to open the envelope immediately.
[REDACTED] said that she opened the envelope while the plane was still taxiing toward the runway. She said that the note inside the envelope was written in black felt-tip type pen and read as follows:
"MISS -
I have a bomb here and I would like you
to sit by me."
[REDACTED] said that "MISS" was printed, but the remainder of the note was written in neat legible hand- writing. She said that the envelope was a plain, white letter-type envelope with no writing on the outside. She said the note was written on plain white unlined paper.
[REDACTED] said that she read the note twice, and then looked up at the man. She said he was looking directly at her, and she asked if he was kidding. She said that the man replied, "No, Miss, this is for real," in a serious but calm voice.
[REDACTED] said that another Stewardess, [REDACTED] came to the rear of the plane at this time. [REDACTED] said that she stood up and handed the note to [REDACTED] as she moved up and sat in the aisle seat beside the hijacker. She said that [REDACTED] read the note and went to the phone in the rear of the plane.
[REDACTED] said that after sitting beside the man,
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she looked at him and asked again if he was kidding. The man replied, "No Miss."
[REDACTED] said that the man then took a briefcase which was sitting in the window seat and placed it on his lap. She said that he opened the briefcase and showed her a bundle of red sticks, which she believed was dynamite. She said that the bundle consisted of six or eight reddish colored sticks, which were about six or eight inches long. She said that there was no writing on the outside of the red sticks, and she believed they were bundled as though they were taped together.
She said that there was a small wire leading from the bundle of sticks, which the man held in his hand, as if to indicate he could detonate the bomb by touching the bare end of the wire to a contact. She said that there was also a battery in the briefcase, which was cylindrical in shape and about eight-inches long. She said that she could not describe the battery, as she paid more attention to the dynamite sticks.
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[REDACTED] said that after she sat down, she asked the man what she should do. He replied, "Take this down." She said she reached into her purse and got a pen and note pad. She said that man dictated the following request to her:
"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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[REDACTED] said that she stopped writing and looked at the man, and he calmly said, "No fuss." She said that she also wrote this down on the note, although she did not know if he had intended it to be part of the note. She replied, "Okay."
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She said that the hijacker replied, "After this, we'll take a little trip."
[REDACTED] said that as the plane was taking off, she told the man that she would have to go to the cockpit, or she could not relay this information. He said, "Al- right, go ahead." She asked as she got up, "Sir, is this all you want?" He replied, "Yes."
She said that when she got up, she went to the rear of the plane, where [REDACTED] was talking on the phone and took the note which the hijacker had initially given to her and went forward to the cockpit.
She said that she gave the Captain the informa- tion, and was told by the Captain to stay in the cockpit. She said that she remained in the cockpit until shortly before the plane landed. She said that the pilot instructed her to go to the tourist section and make sure that no one walked back into the area where the hijacker was sitting.
She said that after the plane landed, [REDACTED] who was then sitting in the aisle seat next to the hijacker, stood up and walked to the forward exit of the plane. She said that all the passengers remained seated, and [REDACTED] re- turned to the plane carrying a large bag, which [REDACTED] assumed was the $200,000. She said that [REDACTED] went to the rear of the plane and gave the money to the hijacker.
[REDACTED] said that the passengers began to de- board, and she remained standing at the entrance to the tourist section.
[REDACTED] said that after all the passengers had deboarded the plane, she, [REDACTED] the other Stewardess on the flight, began talking to the man. He instructed [REDACTED] to go out again and pick up the parachutes. She said that while [REDACTED] made several trips to bring in all four parachutes, she conversed with the hijacker.
She said that the hijacker talked about how heavy the money was and asked her to lift it. She said that she picked up the bag of money and remarked as to how heavy it was.
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She said that at this point, she felt as though the hijacker was acting very childish. She said that she felt as though she was humoring him. She said that the man offered her and the other stewardesses on the flight, money which was change from the $20 bill he had given her for the drink. She told him that they did not accept tips. She said that he did not appear to resent this and said no more about it.
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[REDACTED] said that the man spoke of going to Mexico City, Phoenix or San Francisco. She said that he did not appear to know exactly where he was destined for. She said that she asked the man if they were going to go with him, but he did not reply. She said that she asked if the stewardesses could leave the plane, and the man replied, "Sure go ahead," in a calm, uninterested manner.
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[REDACTED] said that by this time the man had begun putting on one of the back parachutes, and at some- time during their conversation had put on a pair of sun- glasses.
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[REDACTED] said that she and [REDACTED] turned and walked toward the forward exit of the plane. She said that [REDACTED] went to the rear of the plane and picked up the telephone. She said that as she was walking out of the plane, she recalled that she had left her purse on the stewardess seat on the rear of the plane. She said that she returned to the plane, and when she approached the hijacker, said, "Sir, I forgot my purse." She said that he smiled and told her she could go ahead and get it. She said that after getting her purse, she left the plane while [REDACTED] was still talking on the phone.
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[REDACTED] described the hijacker as follows:
Race White Sex Male Age Mid-40's Height 6'0" Weight 170 - 175 lbs. Build Average Eyes Brown
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Hair Black, medium length, straight, parted on left side Complexion Olive-type Clothing Black business suit, white shirt, thin black tie, black overcoat, black shoes. Sub- ject was carrying a black businessman's type briefcase, described as ordinary. Had a pair of dark-framed sun- glasses with dark brown lenses.
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[REDACTED] said that the man appeared to be Latin b6 descent. She said that there were no distinguished charac- b7C teristics, such as scars, marks or tattoos. She said that the man had no mustache or beard and spoke in a normal calm voice. She said that she did not recall the man wearing any rings.
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[REDACTED] said that after she delivered the demand b6 note the hijacker had written, and the note she had written b7C at his direction to the cabin, the Captain instructed her to remain seated in the cockpit of the plane. [REDACTED] said that she began taking notes concerning the events that trans- pired during the remainder of the flight.
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[REDACTED] said that after she delivered the demand b6 notes to the Captain, and had been seated in the cockpit for b7C a few minutes, Stewardess [REDACTED] advised by telephone that the hijacker wanted both the note he had written and the note [REDACTED] had written at his direction returned to him. [REDACTED] said she took both notes back to him.
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[REDACTED] furnished 13 pages of notes which she took b6 during the course of the flight. b7C
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DB Cooper-320
Serials: SE 164-81