Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs The Worlds Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved

Free Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs The Worlds Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved by Albert Jack

Book: Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs The Worlds Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved by Albert Jack Read Free Book Online
Authors: Albert Jack
Airport and bought a one-way ticket to Seattle for twenty dollars. The businessman, who gave his name as D. B. Cooper, was allocated seat 18C on Flight 305, which left on time at 4:35 P.M. , climbing into the cold, rainy night with thirty-seven passengers and five flight crew on board.

    Shortly after takeoff, the passenger sitting in seat 18C beckoned to an attractive young stewardess, Florence Schaffner, and passed her a note. This was such a common occurrence between businessmen and the flight crew that Schaffner, believing Cooper had given her his phone number, simply smiled and placed it, unread, in her pocket. The next time she passed seat 18C, Cooper whispered, “Miss, you had better read that note. I have a bomb.” She duly read the note and rushed to the cockpit to show Captain William Scott. The captain then instructed Schaffner to walk to the back of the plane and, so as not to alarm the other passengers, quietly sit next to Cooper and try and gather more information. As she sat down, the hijacker opened his briefcase and wordlessly revealed a device consisting of two cylinders surrounded by wires. It certainly looked like a bomb to the young stewardess.

    Captain Scott then radioed air traffic control with Cooper's demand of $200,000 in used bills, together with four parachutes, two for him and the others for two of the crew he intended to take with him as hostages. The FBI was alerted, and they ordered Northwest Orient's president, Donald Nyrop, to comply fully with Cooper's demands. After all, they reasoned, where was he going to go? No one could jump from a jet airliner and survive. There was also the safety of the other passengers to consider, together with the negative publicity such a hijacking would generate if the company refused to comply; Nyrop felt $200,000 was a small sum to pay under the circumstances. Cooper then instructed the pilot to stay in the air until the money and parachutes were ready, and soon heard Captain Scott announce to his passengers that a small mechanical problem would require the jet to circle before landing. The rest of the passengers remained unaware of the hijacking and Flight 305 finally landed at 5:45 P.M. at its intended destination.

    Once Cooper was satisfied that the money, all in used twenty-dollar bills, and the parachutes had been delivered, he allowed the passengers to leave. At 7: 45 P.M. , with only the pilot, co pilot, one flight attendant, and himself remaining on board, Cooper told Captain Scott to fly toward Mexico. He instructed him to fly at a low altitude of ten thousand feet (instead of the usual thirty thousand feet), and with the landing gear down and the wing flaps set at 15 degrees, thus indicating a detailed knowledge of flying. Unknown to him, however, the plane was being closely tracked by two United States Air Force F-106 jet fighters, using a state-of-the-art radar detection system.

    As the flight crossed southwest Washington, Cooper ordered the pilot to slow his speed to 150 knots and the rest of the crew to remain at the front of the plane with the curtains closed. At 8:11 P.M. the rear door warning light came on, and this was the last anyone saw of the mysterious D. B. Cooper. Even the air force pilots shadowing Flight 305 in their jet fighters failed to see him jump.

    After landing safely at Reno airport, the agreed-upon destination, the crew waited in the cockpit for ten minutes for further instructions. None came, and air traffic control also confirmed they had not received any instructions from Cooper. Cautiously Captain Scott called the hijacker over the intercom and, on receiving no response, nervously opened the cockpit door. Cooper had vanished, having taken everything with him, including his briefcase bomb, the canvas bag full of twenty-dollar bills, and his hat and coat. All that remained were the three unused parachutes. Cooper had done the un think able. He had jumped out of a commercial passenger jet and into the cold, wet night,

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