On November 24, 1971, one of the most mysterious crimes in the history of aviation terrorism took place in the skies over the American Portland. Someone DB Cooper, threatening with a bomb, hijacked a passenger Boeing 727, received a ransom of $ 200,000 and disappeared forever, jumping out of a flying plane at an altitude of 3000 meters.
Love Note, or Terrorist Ultimatum
The C18 seat was reserved in the name of Dan Cooper. Ironically next to him was the stewardess's seat, to whom Cooper handed the note. The girl thought that the passenger wanted to meet, and without reading, put the note in her pocket. But the man was persistent and persuaded the stewardess to read the message. It said there was a bomb on the plane and if the authorities did not give Cooper $ 200,000, he would detonate the plane in mid-air. On board, not counting the staff, there were 36 people …
Money and parachutes
The authorities contacted the terrorist and decided to grant his "request". The plane touched down at Seattle - Tacoma, Washington airport. Cooper demanded to provide a ransom in 20-dollar bills and, in addition, to give him … four parachutes. When the terrorist's demands were met, the hijacker released the hostages, leaving two pilots, a flight attendant and a flight engineer on board. The flight continued …
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Night chase
The plane took off. The authorities took the incident seriously: on the orders of the FBI, F-106 fighters of the US Air Force began to pursue the airliner. Several factors contributed to the drama: a storm raging in the skies over Seattle and Oregon and a complete lack of understanding where the terrorist plane, armed with a bomb and equipped with four parachutes, was leading.
Leap into the night
The denouement of the drama took place half an hour after the resumption of the flight. Cooper demanded that the crew gather in the cockpit and not leave it. At 20:13, the on-board indicators showed that there was a depressurization of the cabin: Cooper opened the door in the tail compartment. After consulting with the FBI agents, the pilot decided to continue the flight until the fuel supplies ran out, because no one was sure that the terrorist had left the plane.