Flight attendant recalls chilling words DB Cooper said to her during hijacking

One of the flight attendants who sat next to infamous plane hijacker DB Cooper has spoken out about her encounter with the criminal.

The identity of DB Cooper could soon be revealed after more than half a century thanks to groundbreaking DNA testing.

Eric Ulis is the man behind the case's revival since it was shut down eight years ago. It's included him naming a person of interest.

The case goes back to 24 November 1971.

On that day, the man we all call DB Cooper - a media moniker given his identity remains unknown - hijacking Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 in the US with threats to blow up the plane if he didn't get what he wanted

He demanded $200,000 (£157,000) - worth a cool $1.5 million (£1.18 million) in 2024 money - which he was granted.

Cooper got himself parachuted up before jumping in to the sky, leaving everyone remaining on the Boeing 727 breathing the biggest sigh of relief that you can imagine.

FBI

Exactly what happened on the flight has been revealed by those who ended up sat next to the hijacker.

Tina Mucklow was on the start of what was expected to be a four to five day period of flying.

She was new to the game and the least experienced of the team, which consisted of three flight attendants and three pilots.

During the first flight, things immediately got weird when fellow flight attendant Florence Schaffner unbuckled her seatbelt to quickly sit next to a passenger at the back of the plane.

Netfix

Schaffner hinted to Mucklow to pick up a piece of paper that she had purposely dropped on the floor.

The note simply said: “Miss, I have a bomb here and I would like you to sit by me."

The man then dictated a chilling note for Schaffner to take to the pilot: "I want $200,000 by 5pm in cash put in a knapsack. I want two back parachutes and two front parachutes. When we land, I want a fuel truck ready to refuel. No funny stuff or I'll do the job."

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Mucklow explained how she would then replace Schaffner as the man's companion on the back row of the plane after the latter took DB Cooper's demands to the cockpit.

Mucklow said: "Either I said ‘You want me to stay here?’ or the hijacker said, ‘I need you to stay here."

The flight attendant found herself becoming the messenger between Cooper and the pilots.

She said: "I was there for the hijacker to kind of keep him feeling safe, reassured, comfortable and not detonating that bomb."

Mucklow prayed. She had become 'at peace' with her potential imminent death after Cooper showed her his briefcase to show her a row of what looked like sticks of dynamite hooked to a battery.

FBI

Thankfully the hijacking ended up with zero fatalities.

After letting the passengers go in Seattle, the plane took to the skies with a destination of Mexico City.

But around half an hour after taking off from Seattle, the hijacker opened the plane's doors.

He would then deploy the staircase and parachute into the night over Washington. The hijacker has never been identified.

After the plane landed, Mucklow says she cried like never before while being comforted by one of the co-pilots.

Officially, the FBI closed the DB Cooper case back in 2016

Mucklow was left upset by the decision, saying: "He was a criminal who was not only threatening my life, but the lives of all those innocent people on that flight.

"But I recognice that it was probably the right thing to do given the amount of time [that has passed] and knowing all the needs of our world today.”