Jet Age Jesse James (3)
During the flight Cooper handed the flight attendant a note. She didn't bother to read it, assuming he was a middle-aged man making a pass.
The note, which she later read at his insistence, listed his demands: have $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes waiting for him in Seattle or he would blow up the plane.
He opened his attaché case to show her what could have been about eight sticks of dynamite with wires attached.
Authorities co-operated and gave Cooper 10,000 $20 bills and four parachutes, although as events unfolded they may have unwittingly sabotaged Cooper's escape.
Because Cooper wouldn't accept military parachutes, which have automatic opening mechanisms, Seattle police tried to find an open skydiving school, eventually tracking down an owner on his day off. One of the four chutes was an inoperable ground-training model grabbed in the haste to meet Cooper's demands; another was a small emergency parachute.
Cooper ordered the plane to fly Mexico and agreed to a refuelling stop in Reno. Cooper also ordered the pilot to stay under 10,000 feet with landing gear down and the flaps at 15 degrees, which ensured the jetliner could not fly faster than about 230 mph. Military planes in pursuit could not fly slowly or low enough to keep the 727 in view.
After the plane left Seattle, Cooper sent the flight attendant to the cockpit with the rest of the crew. The last time she saw Cooper, he was tying the 21-pound bag of money to his waist.
At 7:42 p.m., five minutes out of Seattle, a light came on in the cockpit indicating the rear stairway door had opened.
At 8:12 p.m. and over Southwest Washington, the pilot noted a change in cabin pressure, presumably caused by the stairway springing shut after Cooper jumped.
In Reno, authorities found two parachutes on board but no Cooper.
Cooper had apparently gotten the cords to tie the money to his waist by cutting up the best parachute available to him. The two parachutes he took with him were the emergency chute and the inoperable ground-training model.
The note, which she later read at his insistence, listed his demands: have $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes waiting for him in Seattle or he would blow up the plane.
He opened his attaché case to show her what could have been about eight sticks of dynamite with wires attached.
Authorities co-operated and gave Cooper 10,000 $20 bills and four parachutes, although as events unfolded they may have unwittingly sabotaged Cooper's escape.
Because Cooper wouldn't accept military parachutes, which have automatic opening mechanisms, Seattle police tried to find an open skydiving school, eventually tracking down an owner on his day off. One of the four chutes was an inoperable ground-training model grabbed in the haste to meet Cooper's demands; another was a small emergency parachute.
Cooper ordered the plane to fly Mexico and agreed to a refuelling stop in Reno. Cooper also ordered the pilot to stay under 10,000 feet with landing gear down and the flaps at 15 degrees, which ensured the jetliner could not fly faster than about 230 mph. Military planes in pursuit could not fly slowly or low enough to keep the 727 in view.
After the plane left Seattle, Cooper sent the flight attendant to the cockpit with the rest of the crew. The last time she saw Cooper, he was tying the 21-pound bag of money to his waist.
At 7:42 p.m., five minutes out of Seattle, a light came on in the cockpit indicating the rear stairway door had opened.
At 8:12 p.m. and over Southwest Washington, the pilot noted a change in cabin pressure, presumably caused by the stairway springing shut after Cooper jumped.
In Reno, authorities found two parachutes on board but no Cooper.
Cooper had apparently gotten the cords to tie the money to his waist by cutting up the best parachute available to him. The two parachutes he took with him were the emergency chute and the inoperable ground-training model.
posted by sp at 10:40 am
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