Berkeley Barb clipping: 'Take the Money and Jump - How He Foiled FBI'

TAKE THE MONEY AND JUMP MAY 12-18 BERKELEY BARB PAGE 11

DB Cooper-17681

HOW HE FOILED FBI

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Last November 24th, a man identifying himself as Cooper' parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 jetliner between Seattle and Reno Nevada with a parcel containing 10,000 twenty dollar bills which was the ransom money that had been delivered to him while he held the planes crew hostage at the Seattle-Tacoma International airport. The F.B.I. and other state and local law enforcement agents assisted by companies of G.I.'s from Fort Lewis have futiliy wasted many hours and thousands of taxpayers dollars looking for cooper. So far Cooper has successfully eluded his following in the same ingenious manner that he pulled off his skyjack caper, cooly staying a safe distance away from danger. The F.B.I. headquaters in Seattle has vowed to scrutinize every foot of land between the Sea-Tac airport and Reno to turn up clues in the case. Despite rewards of 5,000 dollars- by the Medias "Fink on your Friends" programe the public has generally granted Cooper adoration and somewhat a hero status. An anonymous interviewer from the twice weekly newspaper the 'Seattle Flag' has produced a story from a taped interview with D.B. Cooper which is validated by the presentation of one of the recorded twenty dollar bills included in the ransom money. This story was run in the 'Flag' because the interviewer was unable to send it to the 'Post-Intelligener' because they had the 5,000 dollar reward out for Coopers head also television stations would have requested a tape from which voice prints could possible be produced. Therefore, running the story in the Flag was the only solution. Cooper said that the witnesses description were off by about fifteen pounds and a couple of inches. Also that the artist's impression were very poor. When asked why, we was still in Washington state he added that he felt it was safer to hide where no one would imagine him to be rather then to go to some place like Mexico or South America where the authorities would naturally expect him to go. He said he started act..al work on his skyjacking plan last June. The idea had come to him while he was

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it was a calculated risk that's why he jumped in bad weather and at night, also he waited a little longer than usual before pulling his ripcord. Adding that his free fall was about 5,000 of the total 7,000 feet. Which was very risky doing at night. He came down about a hundred miles away from S.W., Washington contrary to the F.B.I. report that he touched down near Vancouver Washington. The first thing he did on landing was bury his chute, he was within five miles of where he had intended in an evergreen wooded terrain. He credited this accuracy to his projected calculations and his japanese watch. He wouldn't say whether he had an accomplice on the ground. He said he had lived in Seattle and had once

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two parachutes he had ordered. A stewardess came back with the money in a canvas bag to where cooper was holding another stewardess as hostage in the rear of the passenger cabin. Cooper checked out the loot, first thing and noticed that they reeked of duplicating fluid. Then the stewardess made two more trips out on to the run way to bring in the chutes. Then one of the fuel trucks pulled up...then he ordered the passengers off the plane, and everyone else into the cockpit...a middle-aged, executive looking man started to push his way back through the line into the tourist cabin. Cooper tensed up expecting the guy to try something heroic - but he had just left his briefcase on his seat and was retrieving it.

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L 51279635 A THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WASHINGTON, D.C. TWENTY DOLLARS

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worked at Boeing's on the construction of the first Boeing 727 in 1963 and got to know the 727 from the inside out. The reason he was attracted to the plan was the alignment of the three Pratt & Whitney engines two on the sides of the rear fuselage and the third at the base of the T-tail assembly. Also the down-flaps stalling speed. One hundred [illegible]

He figured if the F.B.I. was going to make a move it would be at Sea-Tac. Everybody but the stewardess he was holding hostage and the three man crew was clear of the plane. Buzzing the cockpit he asked the captain what the hold-up was. Trouble with the vapor lock [illegible] was the answer. And another truck was coming. Cooper told the Captain: "Not more than one fuel truck at a [illegible] but eventually [illegible]

DB Cooper-17682

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[...] per. said that the witnesses description were off out fifteen pounds and a couple of inches. Also that rtist's impression were very poor. When asked why as still in Washington state he added that he felt s safer to hide where no one would imagine him to ther then to go to some place like Mexico or South [guess: America] where the authorities would naturally expect him

said he started actual work on his skyjacking plan June . The idea had come to him while he was [guess: watching] T.V. He figured that skyjackers before him had fools - with their hijacking planes, to go to Cuba, risking the death penalty when all they had to do charter a boat or go to Mexico and take a plane. there!

stated that he did it for the money, realizing that - nswer [illegible] not merely how to get it but rather how t away [illegible] it. After making extensive preparations stroyed. hundreds of timetables, graphs, aircraft plans, weather reports and pages of notes. He felt he had done enough preparations to be worth 200,000 rs.

described jumping from a jet going 200 miles an as being cold, dark, loud, windy and scarey, very py!

had prepared to some extent with long underwear gloves but in order to remain unnoticed onboard the he had to sacrifice some elements of comfort.

ad activated the stairs and opened the back door before he has over the touchdown area to confuse F.B.I....Finally using Kleenex for earplugs he ed down to the tenth step and stepped off into the y of the wind and gravity...In the darkness he heard ngines of the following planes. But he realized that

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worked at Boeing's on the construction of the first Boeing 727 in 1963 and got to know the 727 from the inside out.

The reason he was attracted to the plan was the alignment of the three Pratt & Whitney engines two on the sides of the rear fuselage and the third at the base of the T-tail assembly. Also the down-flaps stalling speed. One hundred and nine miles per hour which was risky but jumpable.

Then also he took into account the small crew: Three on the flight deck and the three stewardesses. Two central galleys and the wardrobes with the two toilets to the rear, figuring that they might come in handy as a place to hold a stewardess hostage.

THE ACUTAL JUMP

First the briefcase bomb was only real in the sense that it worked, it was constructed of gillette shaving cream cans, painted red and rigged up with prima-cord fuses. When he flashed them to the stewardesses they carried out his instructions because they were well-indoctrinated and thoroughly trained. Also they obeyed instructions from Mr. Nyrop of the head of Northwest.

Nyrop figured that it was easier to pay a mere 200,000 than to risk four lives and a $5 million dollar airplane. Cooper could smell xeros fluid on the money and knew that the twenties had been duplicated.

He stayed close to his original plan, only having one nervous moment when he was still negotiating on the ground at Sea-Tac airport. The fueling was being stalled, and he was getting edgy, figuring someone was planning some kind of stragey in an effort to shoot him or some- thing. One of the pilots brought out the money and the

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He figured if the F.B.I. was going to make a move it would be at Sea-Tac. Everybody but the stewardess he was holding hostage and the three man crew was clear of the plane. Buzzing the cockpit he asked the captain what the hold-up was. Trouble with the vapor lock was the answer. And another truck was coming. Cooper told the Captain: "Not more than one fuel truck at a time" but eventually five fuel trucks came out, only three of which were able to deliver. Cooper almost blew his cool, he went forward to the cockpit and told the captain it was take off time, and to take the plane to Mexico.

The plane was again airborn at 7:40 pm four hours and fourty two minutes after leaving Portland.

The parachutes were unacceptable so he decided to jump without a reserve chute... he cut the extra chute up and used the strips to tie the money to his waist.

Next he took the stewardess forward and ordered the captain to lock the door from the inside. Then he returned aft, closing the first class and tourist compartments behind him.

Then he got on the intercom and told the captain to hold the aircraft at 7,000 feet, and speed at 200 miles per hour.

Last he ordered that nobody, under any circumstances, was to attempt to make any further contact with him. Shortly after he jumped.

Cooper declared to the reporter that he was going to retire the night of the interview and head to an undis- closed destination. He said he would be back in Five years, thanks to "The Statue of Limitations!"

.....by Mike Noble

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[Comic strip panels with dialogue balloons] Panel 1: [Duck character with text] SMACK Panel 2: "YOU SAY YOU WANT A LICENSE TO KILL?" Panel 3: "THIS IS MOST IRREGULAR... DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE? LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION?" / "WELL, I'VE GOT MY PORTFOLIO IF YA WANNA LOOK AT IT..." Panel 4: "MMM" Panel 5: [Text at bottom] NED SONNTAG [Label:] THREE