Incident Overview
Description
At 14:58, a man traveling under the name D.B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727-051, Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305 from Portland International Airport (PDX) to Seattle (SEA), with the threat of a bomb. The jet was taxiing on the ground in Portland, when Cooper, who was seated in the last row of the jet, handed a note to a flight attendant, which said, “I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked.” When the flight attendant informed the cockpit about Cooper and the note, the pilot contacted Seattle-Tacoma air traffic control and was instructed to cooperate with the hijacker. According to Cooper’s demands, the jet was put into a holding pattern over Puget Sound near Seattle, while Cooper’s demands for $200,000 and four parachutes (two main back chutes and two emergency chest chutes) were met. Once these were delivered, Cooper gave the captain permission to land at the flight’s intended destination, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport near Seattle, Washington. The plane landed at 17:45. After a few minutes, he released the passengers in exchange for the $200,000 and the four parachutes. After refueling, careful examination of the ransom and parachutes, and negotiations regarding the flight pattern and the position of the aft stairs upon takeoff, Cooper ordered the flight crew to take the hijacked jet back into the air at 19:38. The crew was ordered to fly toward Reno, Nevada at relatively low speed of 170 knots, an altitude at or under 10,000 feet (normal cruising altitude is between 25,000 and 37,000 feet), with the landing gear down and 15 degrees of flap. Immediately upon takeoff, Cooper, who had kept one of the stewardesses with him as a hostage asked her to go back to the cockpit and stay there. Moments later in the cockpit, the crew noticed a light flash indicating that Cooper attempted to operate the rear door, and they started to notice a change of air pressure in the cabin which seemed like an “ear popping experience”, and Cooper had lowered the aft stairs and jumped out of the plane never to be seen again. That was the last time D.B. Cooper was known to be alive. The FBI believed his descent was at 20:13 over the southwestern portion of the state of Washington. Nearly 3 1/2 hours after takeoff from Seattle, at approximately 23:00, with the aft stairs dragging on the runway, the 727 landed safely in Reno.
Primary Cause
Hijacking of a commercial aircraft.Hijacking of a commercial aircraft.Share on:
