Part 1, page 33

Transcript

The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.

[...] ways a problem. So he chose the w[ord] [illegible] Portland. the stewardess. taking orders for drinks had worked her way back to Cooper's seat. When she asked him what he wanted to drink. "I was very keen. I had to be very alert. I didn't want to get lost in conversation" The captain inf[ormed] the passengers [of] a minor mecha[nical problem] [illegible] [...] ticket from Portland to Seattle as well. [...] rear of the plane and just waited. On the practice flights, he had used [several aliases, including] Montgomery and Wright. For the bi[g] trip, he chose [the] name D.B. Cooper. [illegible] worked at Boe[ing] where noise was al[ways a problem...] decibels, and [took the letter D...] and wha[t] he said, would make [more noise than a lot of decibels] [illegible] was rounding up the parachutes. Cooper sent [word] when the plane landed he [wanted it] parked away from the terminal, [in a well-]lighted area so he could see Cooper reached inside his jacket handed her the note. It was [typewritten] on plain white paper, and [the message] was plain: I have a bomb in [this briefcase.] I [am] hijacking this plane [illegible] protect himself

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along the road to Woodland, went into a restaurant and had a ham and cheese sandwich and a piece of apple pie, while he waited for the Greyhound bus. He had already purchased a ticket, to Portland, for 90 cents, and had a plane ticket from Portland to Seattle as well. On the practice flights, he had used several aliases, including Montgomery and Wright. For the big trip, he chose the name D.B. Cooper. It was a little satire, he said. He had worked at Boeing where noise was always a problem. So he chose the word decibels, and took the letter "D" from it. And what, he said, would make more noise than a lot of decibels [in...]

of the plane. Had there been air marshals on board, which was happening on some flights, he planned just to sit tight and take a normal flight to Seattle. No marshals were on board, however, so Cooper took a seat in the extreme left rear of the plane and just waited. "I was still safe. I still had the note. I still had the option just to take a ride. But I knew this was the beginning. Right here. All the work that had gone on before, that was just an accessory. Because nobody knew what I was doing. And I wasn't doing wrong to anybody. "Odd as it may seem, I had prepared for this so long that when it actually

might not open. But other than me, nobody was endangered at any time," Cooper said. The crucial flight was about six minutes late leaving. When it was about 10 minutes out of Portland, the stewardess, taking orders for drinks, had worked her way back to Cooper's seat. When she asked him what he wanted to drink, Cooper reached inside his jacket and handed her the note. It was typewritten, on plain white paper, and the message was plain: "I have a bomb in this briefcase. I am hijacking this plane." The stewardess's eyes widened. "Sur-prised?" Cooper said. "Just follo[w...]

she was from Minnesota, so we talked briefly about Minnesota and how did she like flying and this sort of thing. But actually, the atmosphere wasn't too conducive to idle conversation. Because I was very keen. I had to be very alert. I didn't want to get lost in conversation." The captain informed the passengers there was a minor mechanical problem. While the FBI was rounding up the money and parachutes, Cooper sent word that when the plane landed he wanted it parked away from the terminal, in a well-lighted area so he could see out the windows and protect himself from possible ambush. When she was [...]