Part 15, page 236

Transcript

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

Re: UNKNOWN SUBJECT, aka Dan Cooper

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At first the hijacker wanted the plane to take off with the stairs down but after he was advised this would be impossible, he agreed to having the steps raised with the comment that they could be lowered after they became airborne.

It was further agreed that the plane could be flown to Portland, Oregon, south to Red Bluff, California and then east to Reno, Nevada, where it would stop for refueling.

The plane departed Sea-Tac with the three crew members in the cabin and [REDACTED] in the rear with the hijacker. Within minutes after take off at 7:36 PM, the hijacker had the stewardess show him how to lower the steps and he then ordered her to go to the first class section which she did, and she then continued on to the cabin.

At 8:05 PM the captain was in touch with the hijacker by the intercom. This was the last communication he had with the hijacker. Just prior to this communication, the captain had a signal indicating that the stairs had been lowered. At 8:12 PM, the captain experienced "oscillation" in the plane and thought perhaps the hijacker had departed the plane.

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Air Force fighter planes were escorting the craft but because the 727 was flying at 170 knots, the fighter jets were too fast. Further, the weather was overcast and visibility extremely low.

When the plane arrived at Reno, the hijacker was gone and two of the parachutes were still in the airplane. The attache case also was not in the plane and has not been found.

Extensive search of the southwestern part of Washington State, which was indicated by the 8:12 PM "oscillation" experienced by the crew, was conducted through the aid of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, automobiles and on foot. Results to date have been negative.

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Aerial searches have been and are being made of the flight path to Reno, Nevada, with negative results.

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- 3 - DB Cooper-4096

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