Editing D. B. Cooper (section)

== Hijacking ==
[[File:DB Cooper Wanted Poster.jpg|thumb|FBI wanted poster of D. B. Cooper]]
On [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] Eve, November 24, 1971, a man carrying a black [[attaché case]] approached the flight counter for [[Northwest Airlines|Northwest Orient Airlines]] at [[Portland International Airport]]. Using cash,<ref name="fbi_famous">{{Cite web |title=D.B. Cooper Hijacking |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/db-cooper-hijacking |access-date=May 6, 2022 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us |archive-date=November 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105094658/https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/db-cooper-hijacking |url-status=live }}</ref> the man bought a one-way ticket on {{nowrap|Flight 305}}, a thirty-minute trip north to [[Seattle–Tacoma International Airport]] (Sea-Tac). On his ticket, the man listed his name as "Dan Cooper". Eyewitnesses described Cooper as a white male in his mid-40s, with dark hair and brown eyes, wearing a black or brown business suit, a white shirt, a thin black tie, a black raincoat and brown shoes.<ref name="fbi_famous"/>{{r|vault_69|page=294}} Carrying a briefcase and a brown paper bag,{{r|vault_69|page=294}} Cooper boarded Flight 305, a [[Boeing 727#727-100|Boeing 727-100]] ([[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] registration N467US). Cooper took seat 18-E in the last row and ordered a drink, a [[Bourbon whiskey|bourbon]] and [[7-Up]] from a [[flight attendant]].<ref>{{cite report |date= November 24, 1971|title= FBI Interview with Florence Schaffner, Nov 24, 1971}}</ref><ref name="vault_26">{{cite report |date= June 27, 1972 |title= Acting Director Memo to Seattle SAC, June 27th, 1972 |url= https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2026/view |publisher= Federal Bureau of Investigation |page= 471 |access-date= October 18, 2022 |archive-date= October 18, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221018030831/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2026/view |url-status= live }}</ref>

With a crew of six (consisting of [[pilot in command|Captain]] William A. Scott, [[First officer (aviation)|First Officer]] William "Bill" J. Rataczak, [[flight engineer|Flight Engineer]] Harold E. Anderson and flight attendants Alice Hancock, Tina Mucklow and Florence Schaffner) and thirty-six passengers aboard, including Cooper, Flight 305 left Portland on-schedule at 2:50&nbsp;pm PST.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NPAjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6509%2C3689150 |work=Spokesman-Review |location= |agency=Associated Press |title=Hijacked plane makes landing at Seattle airport |date=November 25, 1971|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323165544/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NPAjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6509%2C3689150 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |date= November 24, 1971 |title= Northwest Airlines Flight Operations Memo from night of hijacking |quote= There are 36 passengers and a crew of 6 |url= https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-10/view |publisher= Federal Bureau of Investigation |page= 329 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Shortly after takeoff, Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Schaffner, who was sitting in the [[jump seat]] at the rear of the airplane,{{r|vault_64|page=159}} directly behind Cooper. Assuming the note was a lonely businessman's telephone number, Schaffner dropped the note unopened into her purse.{{sfn|Bragg|2005|p=2}} Cooper then leaned toward her and whispered, "Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb."<ref>{{cite news |title=When D.B. Cooper Dropped From Sky: Where did the daring, He jumped off the plane. mysterious skyjacker go? Twenty-five years later, the search is still on for even a trace|last=Steven|first=Richard|date=November 24, 1996|page=A20|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref>

Schaffner opened the note. In neat, all-capital letters printed with a felt-tip pen,<ref>{{cite web |title=Unmasking D.B. Cooper |url=https://nymag.com/nymag/features/39593/index1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816131137/http://nymag.com/nymag/features/39593/index1.html |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=June 28, 2016 |work=New York Magazine|date=October 18, 2007 }}</ref> Cooper had written, "Miss—I have a bomb in my briefcase and want you to sit by me."<ref name="auto">{{cite report |title=FBI Interview with Florence Schaffner, Nov 24, 1971 |date=November 24, 1971}}</ref> Schaffner returned the note to Cooper,{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=19}} sat down as he requested, and asked quietly to see the bomb. He opened his briefcase, and she saw two rows of four red cylinders, which she assumed were [[dynamite]]. Attached to the cylinders were a wire and a large, cylindrical battery, which resembled a bomb.{{efn|name=cylinders}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Transcript of Crew Communications |website=n467us.com |url=http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Logs%2006-20-2008R.pdf |access-date=February 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053644/http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Logs%2006-20-2008R.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>

Cooper closed the briefcase and told Schaffner his demands. She wrote a note with Cooper's demands, brought it to the cockpit and informed the flight crew of the situation. Captain Scott directed her to remain in the cockpit for the remainder of the flight and take notes of events as they happened.<ref name="auto"/> He then relayed to Northwest flight operations in [[Minnesota]] the hijacker's demands: "[Cooper] requests $200,000 in a knapsack by 5:00 pm. He wants two front [[parachute]]s, two back parachutes. He wants the money in negotiable American currency."{{sfn|Gray|2011b|pp=41}}{{efn|name=parachutes|Earl Cossey, the skydiving instructor who supplied the parachutes, told some sources three of the four parachutes (one primary and both reserves) were returned to him. The FBI maintained only two parachutes, a primary and a cannibalized reserve, were found aboard the airplane. {{harvnb|Gunther|1985|p=50}}.}} By requesting two sets of parachutes, Cooper implied he planned to take a hostage with him, thereby discouraging authorities from supplying non-functional equipment.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRM4qS3vfB0 |title=How Dan Cooper JUMPED from an aircraft and the end of aft Air-stairs! |date=January 22, 2021 |last=Mentour Pilot |access-date=2023-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727132852/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRM4qS3vfB0 |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}</ref>

With Schaffner in the cockpit, flight attendant Mucklow sat next to Cooper to act as a liaison between him and the flight crew.<ref name="RS_Marks">{{cite magazine |last1=Marks |first1=Andrea |title=The Missing Piece of the D.B. Cooper Story |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/db-cooper-tina-mucklow-untold-story-1111944/ |access-date=August 20, 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=January 12, 2021 |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113212424/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/db-cooper-tina-mucklow-untold-story-1111944/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{r|vault_64|page=160|quote=Tina said 'do you want me to stay here?' and the man replied, 'yes'.}} Cooper then made additional demands: upon landing at Sea-Tac, fuel trucks were to meet the plane and all passengers were to remain seated while Mucklow brought the money aboard. He said he would release the passengers after he had the money. The last items brought aboard would be the four parachutes.{{r|vault_64|quote= One of the specific demands [Cooper] made was the fuel truck is to come first and start fueling the plane immediately. After fueling is completed and the money is aboard, he indicated the passengers would be released, and the last item to be brought aboard the aircraft would be the chutes, and at that time only the crew members were to be aboard, and they must stay out of the aisle and remain in their seats.|page= 160}}

Scott informed Sea–Tac [[air traffic control]] of the situation, who contacted the [[Seattle Police Department]] (SPD) and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI). The passengers were told their arrival in [[Seattle]] would be delayed because of a "minor mechanical difficulty".{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=20}} [[Donald Nyrop]], the president of Northwest at the time, authorized payment of the [[ransom]] and ordered all employees to cooperate with the hijacker and comply with his demands.{{sfn|Gray|2011b|pp=47}} For approximately two hours, Flight 305 circled [[Puget Sound]] to give the SPD and the FBI sufficient time to assemble Cooper's ransom money and parachutes, and to mobilize emergency personnel.{{sfn|Edwards|2021|pp=19}}

During the flight from Portland to Seattle, Cooper demanded Mucklow remain by his side at all times.{{r|vault_64|page=150|quote= the hijacker insisted she be physically present by his side at all times. She recalled she sat with him almost the entire time of the flight.}} She later said Cooper appeared familiar with the local terrain; while looking out the window, he remarked, "Looks like [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] down there", as the aircraft flew above it. When told the parachutes were coming from [[McChord Field|McChord Air Force Base]], Cooper correctly noted McChord was only a twenty-minute drive from Sea-Tac.{{r|vault_64|page=156|quote=She also recalled while they were in the holding pattern prior to landing, he at one time looked out the window and observed 'We're over Tacoma now' and '...she stated she recalled some conversation to the effect the parachutes were coming from McChord Air Force Base. The hijacker remarked that it was about 20 minutes from McChord to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport.'}} She later described the hijacker's demeanor: "[Cooper] was not nervous. He seemed rather nice and he was not cruel or nasty."{{r|vault_53|page=174|quote=He was not nervous. He seemed rather nice and he was not cruel or nasty.}}

While the airplane circled Seattle, Mucklow chatted with Cooper and asked why he chose Northwest Airlines to hijack. He laughed and replied, "It's not because I have a grudge against your airlines, it's just because I have a grudge," then explained the flight simply suited his needs.{{r|vault_64|quote= She asked him why he picked Northwest Airlines to hijack and he laughed and said, 'It's not because I have a grudge against your airlines, it's just because I have a grudge.' He paused and said the flight suited his time, place, and plans.|page=161}} He asked where she was from; she answered she was originally from [[Pennsylvania]], but was living in [[Minneapolis]] at the time. Cooper responded that Minnesota was "very nice country."{{r|vault_64|quote= He asked her where she was from and she told him that she was from Pennsylvania, but was living in Minneapolis, Minn. He indicated that Minneapolis, Minn., was very nice country.|page=161}} She asked where he was from, but he became upset and refused to answer.{{r|vault_64|page=160}} He asked if she smoked and offered her a cigarette. She replied she had quit, but accepted the cigarette.{{r|vault_64|quote=Other conversation centered on personal habits such as smoking and he asked her if she did and she said she used to, but had quit, and he offered her a cigarette, which she took and smoked.|page=161}}

FBI records note Cooper spoke briefly to an unidentified passenger while the airplane maintained its holding pattern over Seattle. In his interview with FBI agents, passenger George Labissoniere stated he visited the restroom directly behind Cooper on several occasions. After one visit, Labissoniere said the path to his seat was blocked by a passenger wearing a cowboy hat, questioning Mucklow about the supposed mechanical problem delaying them. Labissoniere said Cooper was initially amused by the interaction, then became irritated and told the man to return to his seat, but "the cowboy" ignored Cooper and continued to question Mucklow. Labissoniere claimed he eventually persuaded "the cowboy" to return to his seat.{{r|vault_67|quote= The cowboy was hassling Tina for information about the mechanical difficulties and generally being a nuisance. The hijacker seemed to enjoy the situation at first but told the cowboy to go back to his seat.|page=170}}

Mucklow's version of the interaction differed from Labissoniere's. She said a passenger approached her and asked for a sports magazine to read because he was bored. She and the passenger moved to an area directly behind Cooper, where they both looked for magazines. The passenger took a copy of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' and returned to his seat. When Mucklow returned to sit with Cooper, he said, "If that is a [[sky marshal]], I don't want any more of that", but she reassured him there were no sky marshals on the flight.{{r|vault_64|quote=After he was seated and Tina returned to seat 18 D, next to the hijacker, he said, 'If that is a Sky Marshal I don't want any more of that,' and she reassured him that it wasn't and further, that there were no sky marshals on that flight.|page=161}} Despite his brief interaction with Cooper, "the cowboy" was not interviewed by the FBI and was never identified.{{sfn|Edwards|2021|pp=18}}

The $200,000 ransom was received from Seattle First National Bank in a bag weighing approximately {{convert|19|lb|kg|spell=in|round=0.5}}.{{r|vault_11|quote= Seattle First National Bank, Seattle, Washington, who provided the money paid on this case advises that the money in the bag weighed nineteen pounds and the contents measured eleven inches by twelve inches by six and one half inches|page= 123}} The money—10,000 unmarked [[United States twenty dollar bill|$20 bills]], most of which had serial numbers beginning with "L" (indicating issuance by the [[Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco]]<ref>{{cite news |date=December 26, 1971 |title=Please Check Your $20 Bills, FBI Says |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-56/view |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809232101/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-56/view |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |access-date=August 4, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>)—was photographed on [[Microform|microfilm]] by the FBI.{{r|vault_67|quote= microfilm upon which was record[ed] the serial number[s] of all the bills...|page=101}} Seattle police obtained the two front (reserve) parachutes from a local [[skydiving]] school and the two back (main) parachutes from a local stunt pilot.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clever |first1=Dick |title=Hijacker Hunt Near Woodland |agency=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=November 26, 1971}}</ref>

===Passengers released===
[[File:Northwest Boeing 727 airstair (1975).jpg|thumb|[[Boeing 727]] with the aft airstair open]]
Around 5:24 PST, Scott was informed the parachutes had been delivered to Sea-Tac and notified Cooper they would be landing soon. At 5:46 PST, Flight 305 landed at Sea-Tac.{{r|vault_64|quote=The Flight landed at Seattle International Airport at 5:46 Pacific time.|page= 163}} With Cooper's permission, Scott parked the aircraft on a partially-lit runway, away from the main terminal.{{r|vault_64|quote=Prior to landing, the captain wanted permission to park his aircraft away from the terminal and the hijacker said okay.|page= 163}} Cooper demanded only one representative of the airline approach the plane with the parachutes and money, and the only entrance and exit would be through the aircraft's front door via mobile stairs.{{r|vault_66|page=15|quote=He requested an unmarked car and a representative of the airline would be allowed to approach the aircraft from a ten o'clock relative position. The only other equipment to go near the aircraft was to be the air stairs and refueling equipment.}}

Northwest's Seattle operations manager, Al Lee, was designated to be the courier. To avoid the possibility Cooper might mistake Lee's airline uniform for a law enforcement officer, he changed into civilian clothes for the task.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=28}} With the passengers remaining seated, a ground crew attached a mobile stair. Per Cooper's directive, Mucklow exited the aircraft through the front door and retrieved the ransom money. When she returned, she carried the money bag past the seated passengers to Cooper in the last row.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2010/view |title=Cord Zum Spreckel FBI Interview |date=November 26, 1971 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |page=451 |quote=the blonde stewardess, who had been sitting next to the hijacker, got up and went forward and out of the forward exit of the plane. He said she returned through the same door after several minutes carrying a package which was made of off-white canvas. |access-date=October 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018031102/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2010/view |archive-date=October 18, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|vault_64|quote=[she] departed the aircraft through the forward door as soon as the stairs were put in place.|page=163}}

Cooper then agreed to release the passengers.<ref name="vault_26"/> As they debarked, Cooper inspected the money. In an attempt to break the tension, Mucklow jokingly asked Cooper if she could have some of it. Cooper readily agreed and handed her a packet of bills, but she immediately returned the money and explained accepting gratuities was against company policy. She said Cooper had tried to tip her and the other two flight attendants earlier in the flight with money from his pocket, but they had each declined, citing the policy.{{r|vault_64|quote=[Mucklow] recalled that she, in an attempt at being humorous, stated to the hijacker while the passengers were unloading that there was obviously a lot of money in the bag and she wondered if she could have some. The hijacker immediately agreed with her suggestion and_took one package of the money, denominations unrecalled by and handed it to her. She returned the money, stating to the hijacker that she was not permitted to accept gratuities or words to that effect. In this connection recalled that at one time during the flight the hijacker had pulled some single bills from his pocket and had attempted to tip all the girls on the crew. Again they declined in compliance with company policy.|page=163}}

With the passengers safely debarked, only Cooper and the six crew members remained aboard.{{r|vault_64|quote=She also recalled that at this time all hostesses and male crew members were still aboard the aircraft.|page=153}} In accordance with Cooper's demands, Mucklow made three trips outside the aircraft to retrieve the parachutes, which she brought to him in the rear of the plane.{{r|vault_64|pages=152–153}} While Mucklow brought aboard the parachutes, Schaffner asked Cooper if she could retrieve her purse, stored in a compartment behind his seat. Cooper agreed and told her, "I won't bite you." Flight attendant Hancock then asked Cooper if the flight attendants could leave, to which he replied, "Whatever you girls would like,"<ref>{{cite report |date= November 24, 1971|title= FBI Interview with Alice Hancock, Nov 24, 1971|quote=then Mrs. Hancock went to the back of the plane and approached the hijacker and asked if the stewardesses could go and he said 'whatever you girls would like.'}}</ref>{{r|vault_64|quote=[Florence] came back to where the hijacker was seated and asked if she could get her purse and he said that she should come on back, he wouldn't bite her.|page=163}} so Hancock and Schaffner debarked. When Mucklow brought the final parachute to Cooper, she gave him printed instructions for using the parachutes, but Cooper said he didn't need them.{{r|vault_64|quote=At this point she gave him a paper sheet giving instructions on how to jump and he said he didn't need that.|page=163}}

A problem with the refueling process caused a delay, so a second truck and then a third were brought to the aircraft to complete the refueling.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=35–36}} During the delay, Mucklow said Cooper complained the money was delivered in a cloth bag instead of a knapsack as he had directed, and he now had to improvise a new way to transport the money.{{r|vault_64|quote=He appeared irritated that they did not give him a knapsack.|page=163}} Using a pocket knife, he cut the canopy from one of the reserve parachutes, and stuffed some of the money into the empty parachute bag.{{r|vault_64|quote=he was occupied with one of the parachute packs ... and attempting to in some way attach it to his body. ... Her recollections in this regard were vague.|page=155}}

An FAA official requested a face-to-face meeting with Cooper aboard the aircraft, but Cooper denied the request.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rothenberg|first1 = David|last2=Ulvaeus|first2=Marta|title=The New Earth Reader: The Best of Terra Nova|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|year=1999|location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/newearthreaderbe0000unse/page/4 4]|isbn=978-0262181952|url=https://archive.org/details/newearthreaderbe0000unse/page/4}}</ref> Cooper became impatient, saying, "This shouldn't take so long," and, "Let's get this show on the road."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Gina |date=December 6, 1971 |title=CRIME: The Bandit Who Went Out into the Cold |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,877495,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727133302/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,877495,00.html |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |access-date= |magazine=Time |issn=0040-781X}}</ref><ref name=Caldwell1971>{{Cite news|last=Caldwell|first=Earl|date=November 26, 1971|title=Hijacker collects ransom of $200,000; parachutes from jet and disappears|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/26/archives/hijacker-collects-ransom-of-200000-parachutes-from-jet-and.html|access-date=January 13, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008121340/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/26/archives/hijacker-collects-ransom-of-200000-parachutes-from-jet-and.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He then gave the cockpit crew his [[flight plan]] and directives: a southeast course toward [[Mexico City]] at the minimum [[airspeed]] possible without [[stall (fluid dynamics)|stalling]] the aircraft—approximately {{convert|100|kn|round=5}}—at a maximum {{convert|10000|ft|adj=on}} altitude. Cooper also specified the [[landing gear]] must remain deployed, the [[Flap (aeronautics)|wing flaps]] must be lowered 15 degrees and the cabin must remain [[cabin pressurization|unpressurized]].{{sfn|Rothenberg|Ulvaeus|1999|p=5}}

First Officer Rataczak informed Cooper that the configuration limited the aircraft's range to about {{convert|1000|mi}}, so a second refueling would be necessary before entering Mexico. Cooper and the crew discussed options, and agreed on [[Reno–Tahoe International Airport]] as the refueling stop.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Buergin|first=Miles|date=October 14, 2020|title=Knowing Nevada: Revisiting the Mystery of D.B. Cooper|url=https://mynews4.com/news/knowing-nevada/knowing-nevada-revisiting-the-mystery-of-db-cooper|access-date=January 13, 2022 |publisher=[[KRNV-DT|KRNV]] |archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113212427/https://mynews4.com/news/knowing-nevada/knowing-nevada-revisiting-the-mystery-of-db-cooper|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=33–35}} Cooper further directed the aircraft take off with the rear exit door open and its [[airstair]] extended.{{sfn|Gray|2011b|pp=74–77}} Northwest officials objected for reasons of safety, but Cooper countered by saying, "It can be done, do it," but then did not insist and said he would lower the staircase once they were airborne.{{sfn|Gray|2011b|pp=74–77}} Cooper demanded Mucklow remain aboard to assist the operation.{{r|vault_64|quote=It was finally agreed...that Mucklow would remain on board to lower the door and stairs after the aircraft was airborne.|page=153}}

===Back in the air===
[[File:Northwest_Airlines_Flight_305_Crew.jpg|thumb|right|Crew of Flight 305 upon landing in Reno: (left to right) Captain William Scott, Co-pilot Bill Rataczak, Flight Attendant Tina Mucklow, Flight Engineer Harold E. Anderson]]
Around 7:40&nbsp;pm, Flight 305 took off, with only Cooper, Mucklow, Scott, Rataczak and Flight Engineer Anderson aboard.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=36}} Two [[Convair F-106 Delta Dart|F-106]] fighters from McChord Air Force Base{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=45-46}} and a [[Lockheed T-33]] trainer—diverted from an unrelated [[Air National Guard]] mission—followed the 727. All three jets maintained "S" flight patterns to stay behind the slow-moving 727,{{r|vault_53|page=141}} and out of Cooper's view. After takeoff, Cooper told Mucklow to lower the aft staircase. She told him and the flight crew she feared being sucked out of the aircraft.{{r|vault_64|quote=She told him that she was fearful of being sucked out of the airplane.|page=156}} The flight crew suggested she come to the cockpit and retrieve an emergency rope with which she could tie herself to a seat. Cooper rejected the suggestion, stating he did not want her going up front or the flight crew coming back to the cabin.{{r|vault_64|quote=The cockpit called and told her to use the escape rope to secure herself when they found out that she was going to lower the ladder once the aircraft is airborne. She related this to the hijacker and he said, 'no,' he didn't want her to go up front or them to come back.|page=164}} She continued to express her fear to him, and asked him to cut some cord from one of the parachutes to create a safety line for her. He said he would lower the stairs himself,{{r|vault_64|quote=She asked him to cut some nylon cord from the parachute for her to use as a safety line when she opened the rear ladder and the hijacker said, 'Nevermind,' that he would do it...|page=164}} instructed her to go to the cockpit, close the curtain partition between the Coach and First Class sections and not return.{{r|vault_64|quote=the hijacker suddenly told her to go forward of the aft compartment, to close the curtain behind her and not to return to the rear compartment again.|page=156}}

Before she left, Mucklow begged Cooper, "Please, please take the bomb with you."<ref name="RS_Marks"/> Cooper responded that he would either disarm it or take it with him.{{r|vault_64|quote=she pleaded with him to take the bomb with him and he said he would take it with him or disarm it before he leaves.|page=164}} As she walked to the cockpit and turned to close the curtain partition, she saw Cooper standing in the aisle tying what appeared to be the money bag around his waist.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=42}}{{r|vault_64|quote="the last time she saw him he had a nylon cord tied around his waist and was standing in the isle."|page=164}} From takeoff to when Mucklow entered the cockpit, four to five minutes had elapsed. For the rest of the flight to [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], Mucklow remained in the cockpit,{{r|vault_64|quote=Approximately four minutes after take off, he stood up, told her to go to the cockpit|page=164}} and was the last person to see Cooper. Around 8:00&nbsp;pm, a cockpit warning light flashed, indicating the aft staircase had been deployed. Scott used the plane's [[intercom]] to ask Cooper if he needed assistance, but Cooper's last message{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=44}} was a one-word reply: "No."<ref name="Caldwell1971" /> The crew's ears popped from the drop in air pressure from the stairs being opened.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Perry|first=Douglas|date=November 8, 2021|title=D.B. Cooper at 50: Push to solve case gains steam, but much about famous skyjacking remains a mystery|url=https://oregonlive.com/history/2021/11/db-cooper-at-50-push-to-solve-case-gains-steam-but-much-about-famous-skyjacking-remains-a-mystery.html|url-status=live|access-date=January 13, 2022|website=[[The Oregonian]]|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113213031/https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2021/11/db-cooper-at-50-push-to-solve-case-gains-steam-but-much-about-famous-skyjacking-remains-a-mystery.html}}</ref> At approximately 8:13&nbsp;p.m., the aircraft's tail section suddenly [[Aircraft principal axes|pitched]] upward, forcing the pilots to [[trim tab|trim]] and return the aircraft to level flight.{{sfn|Bragg|2005|p=4}} In his interview with the FBI, Rataczak said the sudden upward pitch occurred while the flight was near the suburbs north of Portland.{{r|vault_64|quote=Rataczak stated they had not yet reached Portland proper, but were definitely in the suburbs or the immediate vicinity thereof.|page=322}}

With the aft cabin door open and the staircase deployed, the flight crew remained in the cockpit, unsure if Cooper was still aboard. Mucklow used the intercom to inform Cooper they were approaching Reno and that he needed to raise the stairs so the airplane could land safely. She repeated her requests as the pilots made the final approach to land, but neither Mucklow nor the flight crew received a reply from Cooper.{{r|vault_64|quote=Before descending at Reno, Nev., she called repeatedly over the intercom system to the hijacker to cooperate, that the aircraft must land. The last message was, 'Sir, we are going to land now, please put up the stairs.'|page=164}} At 11:02&nbsp;pm, with the aft staircase still deployed, Flight 305 landed at Reno–Tahoe International Airport.{{sfn|Edwards|2021|pp=42}} FBI agents, state troopers, sheriff's deputies and [[Reno Police Department|Reno police]] established a perimeter around the aircraft but, fearing the hijacker and the bomb were still aboard, did not approach the plane. Scott searched the cabin, confirmed Cooper was no longer aboard and, after a thirty-minute search, an FBI [[bomb squad]] declared the cabin safe.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=48}}