Copycat Hijackings
Cooper was not the first to attempt air piracy for personal gain; two weeks prior, Paul Cini did it aboard an Air Canada DC-8 over Montana, but was overpowered by the crew when he put down his gun to strap on the parachute. Cooper's apparent success inspired a flurry of imitators. Most "copycats" struck during the year that followed. Some examples:
- Garrett Brock Trapnell hijacked a TWA airliner en route from Los Angeles to New York City in January 1972. He demanded $306,800 in cash, the release of Angela Davis, and an audience with President Richard Nixon. After the aircraft landed at Kennedy Airport he was shot and wounded by FBI agents before being arrested.
- Richard McCoy, Jr., a former Army Green Beret, hijacked a United Airlines 727-100 in April after it left Denver, Colorado, diverted it to San Francisco, then bailed out over Utah with $500,000 in ransom money. He landed safely, but was arrested two days later.
- Frederick Hahneman used a handgun to hijack an Eastern Airlines 727 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May, demanded $303,000, and eventually parachuted into Honduras, his country of birth. A month later, with the FBI in pursuit and a $25,000 bounty on his head, he surrendered to the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
- Robb Dolin Heady, a paratrooper and Vietnam veteran, stormed a United Airlines 727 in Reno in early June, extorted $200,000 and two parachutes, and jumped into darkness near Lake Washoe, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Reno. Police found Heady's car (sporting a United States Parachute Association bumper sticker) parked near the lake and arrested him as he returned to it the next morning.
- Martin McNally, an unemployed service station attendant, used a submachine gun in late June to commandeer an American Airlines 727 en route from St. Louis to Tulsa, then diverted it eastward to Indiana and bailed out with $500,000 in ransom. McNally lost the ransom money as he exited the aircraft, but landed safely near Peru, Indiana and was apprehended a few days later in a Detroit suburb.
In all, a total of 15 hijackings similar to Cooper's—all unsuccessful—were attempted in 1972. With the advent of universal luggage searches in 1973 (see Airport security) the general incidence of hijackings dropped precipitously. There were no further notable Cooper imitators until July 11, 1980, when Glenn K. Tripp seized Northwest flight 608 at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, demanding $600,000 ($100,000 by an independent account), two parachutes, and the assassination of his boss. After a ten-hour standoff he was apprehended; but on January 21, 1983—while still on probation—he made a similar attempt, on the same Northwest flight, and demanded to be flown to Afghanistan. When the plane landed in Portland he was shot and killed by FBI agents.
Read more about this topic: Northwest Airlines Flight 305