The Hijacking of American Flight 119

He pulled off what some deem the crime of the century: skyjacking a commercial jetliner, collecting a ransom of $200,000, parachuting off the aft stairs of the Boeing 727 into the night, and simply disappearing. Since November 1971, "D.B. Cooper"—no one knows his real name or identity—has become a figure of enduring fascination and obsession. The FBI pursued him for over forty years, before closing the case and leaving it unsolved. Unsolved, perhaps, but much admired. D.B. Cooper's exploit over the skies of the American Northwest has inspired books, films, and endless speculation. What's less known is that it inspired imitators. None were more daring than the hijacker of American Airlines Flight 119. After commandeering the flight from St. Louis with a machine gun and collecting $502,500 in ransom, he parachuted out over Indiana. Unlike Cooper, he was tracked down. In The Hijacking of American Flight 119, John Wigger explores the wave of hijackings that swept over commercial flight between 1961 and 1972. One hijacker ran across the ramp in Reno, Nevada with a pillowcase over his head, gun in hand, to seize a United Airlines flight. Another collected a large ransom in Washington, D.C. before jumping over Honduras. Yet another rode a bicycle across the tarmac with a rifle strapped to the handlebars. Motivations involved an admixture of ideology, greed, derring-do, and a desperate need to be somebody. What they had in common was that their exploits transfixed the nation's attention, bringing about a transformation in airline security that remains with us still. With its focus on the parachute hijackers, Wigger's book gathers together the stories of this period of daring criminality and recounts them in gripping fashion, showing their effect on the public, the media, and law enforcement. Using never-before- published interviews and first-hand accounts, he brings to life one of the most chaotic and fascinating periods in American aviation history.

John Wigger is Professor of History at the University of Missouri. He is the author of PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Evangelical Empire , and American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists. He grew up flying with his father and was an avid aerobatic pilot.

Prologue Part 1: The Heist Chapter 1: The Hijacking Chapter 2: Sharon Wetherley Chapter 3: David Spellman Chapter 4: The Friendly Skies Chapter 5: Heinrick von George Chapter 6: The Money Chapter 7: Mohawk Airlines Flight 452 Chapter 8: The Pilots Chapter 9: The Parachutes Chapter 10: D.B. Cooper Chapter 11: Tom Parker Chapter 12: Richard McCoy Chapter 13: The Switch Chapter 14: David Hanley Chapter 15: Cadillac Impact Chapter 16: The Boeing 727 Chapter 17: Snipers Chapter 18: Chase Planes Chapter 19: A Short History of Parachuting Chapter 20: Wheels Up Chapter 21: The Jump Part 2: The Chase Chapter 22: The Call Chapter 23: Dead or Alive Chapter 24: Peru, Indiana Chapter 25: Nowhere Man Chapter 26: The Sketch Chapter 27: Survivors Chapter 28: The Money, the Guns, and the Pants Chapter 29: Show Me the Money Chapter 30: Tell Me Your Name Chapter 31: The Parachute Chapter 32: The Tip Chapter 33: A Life of Crime Chapter 34: The Plan Chapter 35: A Ride Home Chapter 36: The Informant Chapter 37: Fingerprints Chapter 38: The Arrest Chapter 39: Evidence Chapter 40: Fallout Chapter 41: Hijacker's Heaven Part 3: Connecting Flights Chapter 42: How It Began Chapter 43: Take Me to Cuba Chapter 44: Anywhere but Here Chapter 45: Hijack House Chapter 46: Security Chapter 47: Ransoms Chapter 48: A Means of Escape Chapter 49: The Trial Chapter 50: Prison Break Chapter 51: Finding D.B. Cooper Chapter 52: Arrivals Acknowledgments Index