Part 53, page 173

Transcript

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[...]of F. B. I. operations in Ne- vada, the Associated Press reported. "We had the air- port covered."

The ransom was the larg- est ever paid in an airline hi- jacking.

The hijacker had shown a stewardess what he said was a bomb in a briefcase. The briefcase was missing when the plane arrived in Reno.

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A Boeing Co. spokesman said no one has ever para- chuted from a Model 727, al- though it is quite feasible. The rear door drops down from the bottom of the plane and a parachutist would have no difficulty clearing the plane, the spokesman said.

The plane reportedly flew from Seattle at a reduced

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speed because the rear door was open. Cabin tempera- tures dropped below zero. The hijacker had parachutes put aboard the plane at Seattle.

Crew members aboard the plane when it reached Reno were identified as Scott; Bob Rataczak, first officer; H. N. Anderson, flight engineer, and Tina Mucklow, steward-

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ess. The crew was based in Minneapolis, the airline said.

The Federal Bureau of In- vestigation in Reno tenta- tively identified the hijacker as D. B. Cooper. His name was not among 36 on a list of passengers issued by the air- line.

(A Michael Cooper from Missoula was one of the 36 ransomed passengers inter- viewed briefly by the F. B. I.)

The crew was taken from the plane 35 minutes after it landed in Reno. Officials said the delay was due to the possibility that a bomb had been placed aboard. No bomb was found.

Jack Keillor, Northwest district sales manager in Seattle, said the hijacker had locked the four crew members in the cockpit dur- ing the flight to Reno. The hijacker stayed in the rear of the plane and did not ac- knowledge crew efforts to talk to him, Keillor said.

Art Wibom of the Federal Aviation Administration in Oakland said two Air Force jets and a C-130 cargo plane followed the plane to Reno. An Air Force spokesman said the pursuing planes may not have been able to see the hijacker jump from

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the jet because it was too low and too dark.

THE HIJACKED JET, Flight 305, originated in Washington, D. C., and stopped in Minneapolis; Great Falls, Mont.; Missou- la, Mont.; Spokane, and Portland.

It was hijacked as it left Portland for Seattle. A stew- ardess said the man gave her a note and said he had a bomb in a briefcase.

The stewardess said she saw "two red cylinders and wires" in the briefcase.

The plane landed in Seattle at 5:43 p. m. after circling for about two hours. It left Seattle - Tacoma Airport at 7:37 p. m. and took 3½ hours to fly to Reno.

Along with the $200,000 in ransom money obtained from Seattle-area banks by the airline, the hijacker also was given two parachute assem- blies, each consisting of a chest pack and back pack. Three packs were found aboard the plane in Reno.

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DB Cooper-22511