Part 53, page 125

Transcript

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

—P-I Photo by Tom Brownell LINN EMRICK OF SEATTLE SKY SPORTS, INC. Held front-pack parachute of type given hijacker

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gency use in aerobatic flying. They do not have at- tachments for chestpacks. Authorities were unable to explain the absence of the unusable chestpack. But Seattle area parachutists said it was unlikely the hi- jacker would have needed it. Cossey also said the back- pack chutes he made six months ago had never been unpacked and the hijacker was the first to use them. He said he was confident his chute "worked fine." Northwest Airlines and Federal Aviation Adminis- tration officials maintained silence on developments in the hijack case, saying only that the FBI has ordered the lid on all sources of in- formation but itself. But the FBI was doing little talking. Captain Bill Scott, the pi- lot of the airliner, and the remainder of his crew were flown to Minneapolis yester- day for a late, but no doubt meaningful, Thanksgiving with their families. A Northwest Airlines spokesman in Minneapolis, headquarters for the line, said the crew would be in- terviewed by FBI investiga- tors sometime today. Nei- ther the airline nor the crew would make any pub- lic statements until cleared by the FBI, the spokesman said. Law enforcement authori- ties believe the hijacker was a man with a thorough knowledge of aviation, and parachuting and that he had plotted his daring scheme carefully in advance. The hijacker's choice of a 727 was a wise one, Boeing officials said, since the rear exit is behind and under the engines. It was also reasoned by some authorities that the hijacker asked for more than one parachute in order to create the impression he would force a stewardess to jump with him. Thus, au- thorities would provide properly packed—and un-

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for ground practice only. However, it was also learned by The P-I that the type of backpack chute sup- plied to the hijacker would not accommodate a chest- pack parachute. Emrick explained that in order to be able to use his chestpacks, the jumper must have two "D-rings" on the backpack harness to which the chestpack can be attached. The backpacks, obtained from Renton Aviation did not have these "D-rings." Earl Cossey, 30, of Seattle, who made the backpack chutes, confirmed this. Cossey said he made the special chutes for emer-

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