ReportInsert re narrative of NWA Flight 305 departure from Sea-Tac and flight south1 page
reportLegibility: high

Part 110, page 254

DB Cooper-551Serials SE 164-81

Open in FBI Vault (Part 110, page 254 of the PDF)

FBI 164-81, Vault Part 110 p. 254 (DB Cooper-551), Report — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-110/pages/254

Transcript

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

SE 164-81

---

Northwest Airlines (NWA) Flight #305, departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), under hi- jack 11/24/71, at 7:36 PM. At the orders of the hijacker, the landing gear and flaps were down. After the plane was airborne, the hijacker and Stewardess [REDACTED] discussed b6 the opening of the rear door and the lowering of the air b7C stairs. In less than five minutes after take-off, the hijacker instructed Stewardess [REDACTED] to go forward into the First Class Section and close the curtain behind her and not to return to the rear compartment again.

At 7:42 PM, the crew advised that the stair light was on, indicating that the hijacker was doing something with the air stairs. The plane, at that time, was flying at 7,000 feet.

The log contained an entry at 8:05 PM, indicating the crew had on two occasions, attempted to make contact with the hijacker but he did not reply. However, he then spoke over the PA system and said "everything is okay."

An analysis on 11/24 and 25/71, of the flight path of the aircraft, after it left Seattle, and the logs provided by NWA, suggested that the hijacker was still in the airplane as of 8:05 PM. At that time the plane, according to radar tracking by the U.S. Air Force, was located at a point north of the Pidgeon Springs, Washington area and east of Ostrander, Washington. This would have been the northern most point when he was known to be on the aircraft.

At 8:11 PM, according to a log maintained by NWA, the crew reported that they were "getting some oscillations in the cabin, must be doing something with air stairs." An analysis as to the cause of this oscillation, also referred to as a "pressure bump" or "change in the cabin pressure" pointed to the probability that it was caused by the hijacker leaving the aircraft.

However, at that time it was conjectured that he might have sat on the end of the air stairs and left the plane at some later time, as a result of which theory, the entire route of the aircraft was searched.

---

DB Cooper-551

---

- 257 -