Part 53, page 122

Transcript

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

FD-350 (Rev. 7-16-63)

---

HIJACKER VANISHES INTO NIGHT

Associated Press

RENO, Nev. — A man apparently armed with a bomb hijacked a Northwest Airlines jetliner Wednesday night for $200,000 but was not found aboard the plane when it landed here for refueling near midnight, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration officials said.

The hijacker was given four parachutes by airline officials when the plane left Seattle. Officials said he may have parachuted from the Boeing 727 while it was in flight or

jumped out as it taxied up to the airport terminal with its cabin lights out.

As the plane was taxiing toward the terminal, it stopped long enough for the man to escape safely through an emergency exit, the FAA said. Sheriff's deputies with dogs began a search for him among houses surrounding the airport.

The crew of three men and one stewardess were hustled off the plane into waiting cars 35 minutes after the craft landed. Authorities said the delay in taking the crew off

the craft was due to the possibility that a bomb had been placed in the rear of the plane.

Jack Kiehler, district sales manager for Northwest in Seattle, said the hijacker had locked all four of the plane's crew members in the cockpit during the flight from Seattle to Reno.

The hijacker stayed by himself in the rear of the airplane and did not acknowledge the crew's attempts to communicate with him before the plane touched down in Reno, Kiehler said.

The hijacker took over the airliner shortly before it was to land in Seattle at 3:30 p.m. on a flight from Washington, D.C.

On the ground at 5:43 p.m., he allowed the passengers and two stewardesses to leave and an airline employee took the four parachutes and the $200,000 to the plane.

It was not known if the hijacker planned to parachute from the plane, but he ordered the plane to fly with the landing gear and flaps down and the rear stairwell open.

The pilot said he was told

by the hijacker: "Get the show on the road."

Radio communications from the plane indicated the cabin lights were out and the temperature was seven degrees below zero on the flight to Reno. The pilot said cockpit lights indicated the rear door was being operated.

Airline officials said the stairwell must be retracted for take off and landing but could be lowered in flight so the hijacker could bail out if he chooses.

A Boeing spokesman said

the 727 is one of the few commercial aircraft from which a person could bail out.

"It would be a very safe drop," said John Wheeler. "He'd be away from the flaps and other engines and go straight down."

Wheeler said Boeing had performed an air drop demonstration from the 727 using boxes and "it worked quite well."

A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman in Seattle said the FBI had asked the Missoula, Mont., U.S. forest service centre to check on a Michael Cooper in connection with the hijacking.

The FBI spokesman said Cooper "among others" was

---

(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)

p.1 The Province Vancouver British Columbia, Canada

Date: 11/25/71 Edition: Final Author: Paddy Sherman Title: UNSUB, aka Dan Cooper; Northwest Airlines Fl. 305, Portland Character: to Seattle, 11/2 eCAA-HIJACKING; EXT Classification: 164-81 Submitting Office: Seattle

☐ Being Investigated

COPY SENT TO BUREAU

---

DB Cooper-22460