Flight attendant account of hijacking and suspect clothing description

PH 164-133

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he wouldn't rather have one of the cockpit crew get the chutes and he told her that they weren't that heavy and she wouldn't have any trouble.

When she returned to the plane with the last chute, she saw he had one chute cut open and nylon cords out and he was cutting them with his pocket knife. He took the nylon cord and wrapped it around the neck of the money bag numerous times and then he wrapped it a few times from top to bottom, and with the same piece made a loop like a handle at the top. This nylon cord was pinkish in color. He appeared irritated because they didn't give him a knapsack for the money which he had initially requested, and after trying to put the money in an unfolded parachute, he decided to leave it in the canvas bag.

She told him that they had crew meals and maps, and requested permission to go get them. He said, "yes," and she did, returning the items and taking a seat next to him.

He said, "We're going to Mexico City, gear down, flaps down, you can trim the flaps to 15, you can stop any- where in Mexico to refuel, but not here in the United States. The aft door must be open and the stairs to be 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." [ ] related these instructions to the pilot. [ ] came back to where the hijacker was seated and asked if she could get her purse and he said that she should come on back, he wouldn't bite her. Then she asked if the stewardesses could get off and he said, "yes."

About one hour had passed since landing, and [ ] was taking information for the hijacker from the pilot and she told the other stewardesses to go ahead and she would be with them in a second and they went forward to the cockpit. She told th hijacker that the plane couldn't take off with the ladder down and he said in a low tone, "Yes they can, but the cockpit can put it down after they get airborne." She told him that the stairs had to be let down from the rear and at this point he appeared disturbed because of the duration of time of refueling and he told her to stay.

Just prior to take off, he became very excited be- cause they had been on the ground over an hour and she related this to the cockpit and they answered that they had only 1500 pounds of fuel to be put on and this was about one quarter of their capacity. She explained this to him and he calmed down.

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50 DB Cooper-7069

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She then told him it would be a few minutes longer while they filed a flight plan and he said, "Never mind, they can do that over the radio once we get up. Let's get the show on the road."

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The cockpit called and told her to use the escape rope to secure herself when they found out that she was going to lower the ladder once the aircraft is airborne. She related this to the hijacker and he said, "no," he didn't want her to go up front or them to come back. She asked if the second of- ficer could shut the front door and he said yes. She opened the aft door and locked it open and the pilot started the en- gines and taxied towards the runway. During the taxi, she said, "You know we have oxygen," and he said, "Yes, I know where it is,if I need it I will get it." She asked him to cut some nylon cord from the parachute for her to use as a safety line. when she opened the rear ladder and the hijacker said, "Never mind," that he would do it. She showed him where the panel was and the controls and how to do it, and reminded him to be sure to put the ladder up before they land or the aircraft would be so damaged in landing that it could not take off again. She returned to seat 18 C, he to 18 E, the money was in 18 D, and the bomb in 18 F. The plane took off and she held her ears because the noise was so loud from the engines. Approximately four minutes after take off, he stood up, told her to go to the cockpit and close the first class curtains, and for no one to come out from behind the curtains. The lights were out in the rear compartment and she went forward, faced the curtain, and the last time she saw him he had a nylon cord tied around his waist and was standing in the isle. Before she finished securing the curtain, she pleaded with him to take the bomb with him and he said he would take it with him or disarm it before he leaves.

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After securing the curtain, she entered the cockpit and approximately ten minutes after that, one of the officers re- ceived an interphone call from the hijacker advising that he could not get the rear stairs down. The pilot informed him that he would level the craft off and reduce the air speed. She recalls that a short time after that, she observed the red indicator light go on the second officer's panel indicating that the stairs had been lowered and approximately five minutes after the first call, one of the officers received another call from the hijacker which was the last communication that anyone in the plane had with the hijacker.

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Before descending at Reno, Nev., she called re- peatedly over the intercom system to the hijacker to cooperate, that the aircraft must land. The last message was, "Sir, we are going to land now, please put up the stairs. We are going to land anyway, but the aircraft may be structurally damaged and

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DB Cooper-7070

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7

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we may not be able to take off after we've landed.". The pilot landed the aircraft and parked it away from the terminal. She and the pilot entered the cabin and he called to the hijacker a number of times to cooperate and asked for instructions. When they received no answer, they went behind the curtain. She went to the gally, did not see the man, and simultaneously flipped on all of the cabin lights and there was no one there. The captain and her ran to the rear of the ship and they looked for the bomb. She looked in the aft lavatory and checked the oxygen bussels, then began crawling up the isle looking under seats for the bomb. While she was doing this, the first officer was coming down the isle from the cockpit on his knees with a flashlight looking under the seats for the bomb. After a few minutes, the co-pilot told her to get off of the ship which she did. She walked two blue lights down the taxiway away from the aircraft. It was dark. She recalls that upon entering the aft section of the ship, she observed the one chute that had been cut open and another chute. One was on Row 17, the other on Row 18, both left side of ship.

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She said that about five minutes after she left the aircraft, three cars came to the nose of the plane.

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[REDACTED] described the hijacker as follows:

Sex Male Race White Age 44-46 Height 6' Weight 180-190 pounds Complexion Medium to dark Build Medium Hair Dark, flat, straight, sideburns narrow, mid ear Eyes Not observed Characteristics Wore sunglasses, dark plastic wrap-around frames.

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The man impressed her as being an executive by his dress, special mannerisms, and consideration that he exhibited for her while he was on the aircraft.

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The only time she can recall any actual threat to her life was during the flight from Portland to Seattle he mentioned to her to impress upon everybody that the device he had he would use, that he would not be taken off of the plane. She could not detect an accent in his voice.

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52 DB Cooper-7071

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b6 b7C

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[guess: /0] [guess: Lr]

PH 164-133 2

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Clothing Dark brown suit, possibly with a thin black stripe, brown socks, brown ankle length pebble grain shoes, not tie type shoes.

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She did not have recollection of any rings or unusual facial scars, marks, or tattoos.

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[REDACTED] advised that her recollection of the flight from the Seattle International Airport was that the weather was extremely murky and that the ground could not be seen.

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b6 b7C

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53 DB Cooper-7072