Part 53, page 161

Transcript

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

"I hope we'll have a quick prosecution of this case," said Finegold, who was re- turning from Vancouver, Wash., where he has been representing federal govern- ment personnel in the $2.1 million civil lawsuit against San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto.

"I'll take care of him when he get put away," Simmons said. "We've never had one (a hijacker) before, but we've helped every other type of criminal."

"It wasn't until the money was being handed over that I thought of being hijacked," Finegold said.

"When they brought the money and parachutes aboard, we realized what had happened," said Bill MacPherson, Seattle real-es- tate executive.

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SIMMONS DEFENDED the crew's decision to lie to the passengers as necessary to keep the passengers from getting alarmed and upset- ting their abductor.

"I slept most of the time we were up there," Simmons said.

Simmons' wife, Barbara, also active in prisoner-reha- bilitation, said she first thought they had gotten on the wrong flight.

"First we went right past Seattle, then Everett," Mrs. Simmons said. "All I could think of was the plane was going to Vancouver and we were on the wrong flight."

"Our concern now is for the people (crew) who stayed aboard," Mrs. Sim- mons said.

William Mitchell, 26, Red- mond, said he sat across the aisle from the hijacker and didn't realize what was hap- pening as the man issued his demands to the stewardess. "He didn't move when we left the plane," Mitchell said.

Robert B. Gregor, Sumner, said he paid no attention to the man during the flight, but took a look at him as the passengers left the plane.

"He was quite relaxed," Gregory said. "He was sit-

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Richard Simmons and his wife, Barbara, told of the hijacking after they and 34 other passengers and two stewardesses were allowed to deplane at Seattle- Tacoma Airport. Simmons is head of Job Therapy, a prisoner-rehabilitation program here.—Staff photo by Greg Gilbert.

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ting on the back seat, star- board side."

Passengers said that short- ly after the take-off from Portland, little things hap- pened that later were under- standable as the first part of their abduction.

"I saw one stewerdess an- swer a call and her face dropped," Simmons said. "She looked bewildered and gulped. I guess she learned what was happening then." Another passenger re- called hearing a stewardess

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