At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising
Flight 19 took off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida
on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to
take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back
over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base.
They never returned.

Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who
had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that
his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position
was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the
location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two
more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel.

A hijacker calling himself D.B. Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 into a raging thunderstorm over Washington
State. He had $200,000 in ransom money in his possession.

Cooper commandeered the aircraft shortly after takeoff, showing a
flight attendant something that looked like a bomb and informing
the crew that he wanted $200,000, four parachutes, and “no funny
stuff.” The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport,
where authorities met Cooper’s demands and evacuated most of
the passengers. Cooper then demanded that the plane fly toward
Mexico at a low altitude and ordered the remaining crew into the
cockpit.

At 8:13 p.m., as the plane flew over the Lewis River in southwest Washington, the plane’s pressure gauge recorded Cooper’s jump
from the aircraft. Wearing only wraparound sunglasses, a thin suit,
and a raincoat, Cooper parachuted into a thunderstorm with winds
in excess of 100 mph and temperatures well below zero at the 10,000
foot altitude where he began his fall. Most authorities assumed he
was killed during his apparently suicidal jump. No trace of Cooper
was found during a massive search.

IF FLYING IS SO SAFE, WHY DO

THEY CALL THE AIRPORT – THE

TERMINAL?

ED DANAHUE

John R. Cash
(born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003)

Johnny Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all time,
having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. His genre-
spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly,
blues, folk, and gospel sounds. This crossover appeal earned
him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music,
Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame. His music
career was dramatized in the 2005 biopic Walk the Line. A
trademark all-black stage wardrobe earned him the nickname
“The Man in Black”.