The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking (41 page)

  
1
tickets to friends:
Willie Roger Holder, interview by author, Aug. 2011.

  
2
cheaper accommodations:
Elizabeth Olson (formerly Newhouse), interview by author, May 2011.

  
3
an alkaline battery:
Guide to Selected Viet Cong Equipment and Explosive Devices
(Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1966), 63.

  
4
Marie and Seavenes:
Seavenes and Marie Holder, interview by FBI, San Diego, Calif., Jun. 3, 1972 (obtained through FOIA request).

  
5
trying to forget:
Holder interview.

  
6
relatively mundane affair:
The account of the Allen Sims and Ida Robinson hijacking is primarily based on three sources: unpublished disposition in
Ida Patrice Robinson v. United States of America
, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Jun. 17, 1991; “Boy Turns In Mother in Hijacking,”
Los Angeles Times
, Mar. 25, 1987; and “Negro Couple Skyjack West Coast Jet to Cuba,”
Gazette
(Montreal), Jan. 8, 1972.

  
7
with radio transmitters:
“Skyjacker a Colorado Oddity,”
Denver Post
, Jan. 21, 2001.

  
8
“mental assistance instead?”:
“Ex-Paratrooper Is Held in Hijacking,”
New York Times
, Jan. 22, 1972.

  
9
as a relief pilot:
“Trapnell Guilty
of Jet Hijacking,”
New York Times
, May 17, 1973.

10
open-heart surgery:
“Skyjacker Owed Much in Medical Bills,”
Gazette
(Montreal), Jan. 28, 1972.

11
“take off from my gate”:
“Airlines Screen for Skyjackers,”
Washington Post
, Feb. 8, 1972.

12
been screened at all:
“Screen Passengers, Airlines Ordered,”
Milwaukee Journal
, Feb. 1, 1972.

13
detectors among them:
Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, “Historical Air Traffic Statistics, Annual 1954–1980,”
http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/air_carrier_traffic_statistics/airtraffic/annual/1954_1980.html
; “Funds Approved to Foil Hijackers,”
Eugene
(Ore.)
Register-Guard
, May 22, 1972.

14
skipped screening altogether:
“Airlines Screen for Skyjackers.”

15
valid photo identification:
“Still Holes in the Screening System,”
New York Times
, Apr. 16, 1972.

16
at 12:55 p.m.:
“Bomb Found on Jet Here After $2 Million Demand,”
New York Times
, Mar. 8, 1972.

17
searched the plane twice:
“A Threat to the Entire Airline System,”
New York Times
, Mar. 12, 1972.

18
routinely been overlooked:
“Airline Threats Said Winding Down,”
St. Petersburg Independent
, Mar. 11, 1972.

19
“met piracy in the air”:
“Nixon Vows Air Terrorism War,”
Palm Beach Post
, Mar. 10, 1972.

20
let its customers die:
“U.S. Mobilizes Forces Against Air Terrorism,”
Deseret News
(Salt Lake City, Ut.), Mar. 9, 1972; “President Orders Tighter Security by U.S. Airlines,”
New York Times
, Mar. 10, 1972.

21
bomb plots and skyjackings:
“Airlines Offering $250,000 Reward,”
Lawrence
(Kans.)
Daily Journal-World
, Mar. 17, 1972.

22
an unoccupied lavatory:
Elizabeth Rich,
Flying Scared
(New York: Stein and Day, 1972), 161–62.

23
“he wouldn’t do it”:
“Airplane Hijackers, Why Do They Do It,”
Afro-American
(Washington, D.C.), Feb. 4, 1969.

24
“480 times a day”:
William D. Davidson and Louise Fitzsimmons, “The Power of the Powerless,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 28, 1972. This op-ed was reprinted from
Washington Post
.

25
“falling and being destroyed”:
David G. Hubbard,
The Skyjacker: His Flights of Fantasy
(New York: Collier Books, 1973), 31–37.

26
“aggressive act of their lives”:
“Psychiatrist Makes Study of Hijackers,”
Ocala
(Fla.)
Star-Banner
, Aug. 13, 1970.

27
“psychology of the hijacker”:
“Perilous War on the Skyjacker,”
Life
, Aug. 11, 1972.

28
flight with machismo:
Hubbard,
Skyjacker
, 230–31, 277–78.

29
their poor equilibrium:
Rich,
Flying Scared
, 68–69.

30
epidemics in the bud:
A. J. Riopelle, et al., “Vestibular Disorder and Space Utilization by Monkeys,”
Orthomolecular Psychiatry
9, no. 3 (Autumn 1980), 188–93.

31
sexually immature hijackers:
David H. Brown with John T. Dailey,
Nine/Eleven: Could the Federal Aviation Administration Alone Have Deterred the Terrorist Skyjackers?
(AuthorHouse, 2004), 27.

32
“bastards off the planes”:
“Perilous War on the Skyjacker.”

33
air traffic controllers:
“Psychiatrist-Expert Says Media Fosters Hijackings,”
St. Petersburg Times
, Jan. 31, 1972.

34
“skyjacker in all of us”:
Rich,
Flying Scared
, 79.

35
speak with the pilot:
David Shaw, “The Americanization of Ricardo Chavez-Ortiz,”
Oui
, Dec. 1972.

36
would inspire copycats:
“Skyjacker: The Richard McCoy Jr. Story,”
Parachutist
, Mar. 2011; “FBI Recovers $499,970,”
New York Times
, Apr. 11, 1972.

37
world-weary face:
Shaw, “Americanization of Ricardo Chavez-Ortiz.”

38
waterbed and little else:
“Hijackers Traced to San Diego Area,”
New York Times
, Jun. 5, 1972.

39
to look for work:
Bruce Kerkow, interview by FBI, Seattle, Jun. 7, 1972.

40
aligned in their favor:
Holder interview.

41
“people of Indochina”:
“War Foe Arrives in Havana,”
Pittsburgh Press
, May 6, 1972.

42
Marxist insurgents:
“A-B-E Hijacker Who Parachuted into Jungle Is Free from Prison,”
Sunday Call-Chronicle
(Allentown, Pa.), Jun. 30, 1985; “Hijack Ransom Missing,”
Boca Raton News
, Jun. 6, 1972.

43
boulder up a hill:
Holder interview.

44
“impressionable minds”:
“
Skyjacked
Ad Held Up,”
Washington Post
, May 20, 1972.

45
aboard a hijacked jet:
“
Skyjacked
Continues Fast Box-Office Pace in Nation,”
Afro-American
(Baltimore, Md.), Jul. 29, 1972.

46
masqueraded as an officer:
[Name redacted], passenger on Western Airlines Flight 701, interview by FBI, Queens, N.Y., Jun. 3, 1972 (FOIA).

47
“wear to a hijacking?”:
Holder interview; Seavenes and Marie Holder, FBI interview

48
was coldly rebuffed:
Olson interview.

49
Los Angeles to Hawaii:
[Name redacted], United Airlines ticket agent, interview by FBI, San Diego, Calif., Jun. 5, 1972 (FOIA).

50
sneaking through the exits:
Roger Holder,
Eli and the 13th Confession
(unpublished memoir), 146, private collection of Joy Holder.

51
killed by a booby trap:
Holder interview; Diane Edrington, interview by FBI, San Francisco, Jun. 2, 1971 (FOIA).

52
the very next morning:
[Name redacted], United Airlines station manager, interview by FBI, San Diego, Calif., Jun. 14, 1972 (FOIA).

53
the following morning:
Seavenes and Marie Holder, FBI interview.

54
blue Beachmates bikini:
[Name redacted], United Airlines baggage supervisor, interview by FBI, Honolulu, Hi., Jun. 4, 1972 (FOIA).

  
1
less than three hours:
Roger Holder,
Eli and the 13th Confession
(unpublished memoir), 57, private collection of Joy Holder.

  
2
her personal effects:
[Name redacted], United Airlines passenger services supervisor, interview by FBI, Los Angeles, Calif., Jun. 4, 1972 (obtained through FOIA request).

  
3
what to do next:
Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, n.p. Based on the book’s sequence of events, this page should probably have been numbered 94.

  
4
that very day:
“Angela Davis’ Trial Nears Jury,”
Rome
(Ga.)
News-Tribune
, Jun. 2, 1972.

  
5
for additional screening:
[Name redacted], Western Airlines ticket agent, interview by FBI, Los Angeles, Calif., Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

  
6
their racial mismatch:
Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, 95.

  
7
Sisyphus was a go:
Regina Cutcher (later Youngren), interview by FBI, San Francisco International Airport, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

  
8
attracting unwanted attention:
Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, 131.

  
9
“No harm done”:
Regina Cutcher (later Youngren), written statement to FBI, Jun. 2, 1972, private collection of William Newell.

10
deviate from the plan:
Willie Roger Holder, interview by author, Aug. 2011.

11
evasive maneuvering:
[Name redacted] of Bellevue, Wash., passenger on Western Airlines Flight 701, interview by FBI, John F. Kennedy International Airport, N.Y., Jun. 3, 1972 (FOIA).

12
medical receptionist in San Diego:
FBI interview with [name redacted] of North Hollywood, Calif., passenger on Western Airlines Flight 701, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jun. 3. 1972. Obtained through FOIA request.

13
played quite shrewdly:
[Name redacted] of [city redacted], Calif., passenger on Western Airlines Flight 701, interview by FBI, John F. Kennedy International Airport, N.Y., Jun. 3, 1972 (FOIA).

14
slipping away from him:
[Name redacted] of Bellevue, Wash., FBI interview.

15
bullet on May 15:
FBI Identification Division, Latent Fingerprint Section, report to Special Agent in Charge, New York, N.Y., Jun. 9, 1972 (FOIA).

16
rear of the plane:
[Name redacted] of Bellevue, Wash., FBI interview.

17
“Read these”:
Regina Cutcher, written statement.

18
for a few years:
Carlyn Juergens, interview by author, May 2010.

19
pick the Boeing 727:
Thomas Crawford, interview by author, Oct. 2010.

20
“need to read these!”:
Donna Jones, written statement to FBI, Jun. 2, 1972, private collection of William Newell.

21
bare fists, if necessary:
Crawford interview.

22
121.5 megahertz:
Western Airlines Flight Operations Manual
, Section 7-16D through 7-19. Special thanks to former Western Airlines captain Louis DeWitt for sharing this resource.

23
“someone get my luggage?”:
Edward Richardson, interview by author, Jun. 2010.

24
nursing school instead:
Regina Youngren (formerly Cutcher), interview by author, Jun. 2010.

25
destroy the plane:
Cutcher statement.

26
“Peace”:
[Name redacted] of [city redacted], Wash., nineteen-year-old passenger on Western Airlines Flight 701, interview by FBI, San Francisco, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

27
“I’m divorced”:
Crawford interview.

28
“eight slabs of C-4”:
Communications between Western Airlines Flight 701 and Western Dispatch, transcript, private collection of William Newell. This transcript, which consists of cut-out snippets stapled to yellow graph paper, was given to Newell by Norman Rose, Western’s director of flight control at the time of the hijacking.

29
“Jerry Juergens”:
Thomas Crawford, interview by FBI, San Francisco International Airport, Jun. 3, 1972 (FOIA).

30
trickling down his brow:
Crawford interview.

31
“they’re sitting at now”:
Crawford, FBI interview; Richardson interview.

32
or they all died:
Richardson interview.

33
“Roger”:
Western Airlines Flight 701 communications, transcript.

34
“f
i
nd half a million”:
Crawford interview.

35
“We want five parachutes”:
Norman Rose, Western Airlines director of flight control, handwritten note, Jun. 2, 1972, private collection of William Newell.

36
“details when I have them”:
Ronald Dellinger, interview by author, Aug. 2010.

37
pockets for rosary beads:
Ibid.

38
quickly passed out:
Donna Jones, interview by author, Jun. 2010.

39
“anyone steps out of line”:
Dellinger interview; Crawford interview; Steven Leatherwood, interview by FBI, San Francisco International Airport, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

40
“Don’t do anything funny”:
Donna Jones, written statement.

41
“Get it moving now”:
[Name redacted], branch sales manager for Varian Data Machines, interview by FBI, San Francisco International Airport, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

42
like rag dolls:
Dellinger interview.

43
“getting what they want”:
Crawford interview.

44
check on her condition?:
Jones statement.

45
“Can’t possibly do it”:
Crawford interview.

46
“I want another airplane”:
Ibid.

47
“further instructions and info”:
Western Airlines Flight 701 communications, transcript.

48
“name of American justice”:
“Angela Davis Case Goes to Jury Today,”
Bryan
(Oh.)
Times
, Jun. 2, 1972.

49
now finally under way:
“Jurors Weigh Davis Case,”
Milwaukee Journal
, Jun. 3, 1972.

50
see her immediately:
“Hijackers Demand Cash, Release of Angela Davis,”
St. Petersburg Times
, Jun. 3, 1972.

51
whisking her away:
“U.S. Kidnap Plan Said Foiled,”
Gazette
(Montreal), Nov. 14, 1970.

52
her shaken expression:
“Angela’s Case Is in Jury’s Hands,”
Spartanburg
(S.C.)
Herald-Journal
, Jun. 3, 1972.

53
even over the telephone:
“Kathleen Cleaver and Angela Davis: Rekindling the Flame,”
Essence
, May 1996.

54
“Angela Y. Davis’ freedom”:
“Hijackers Demand Cash, Release of Angela Davis.”

55
for a military operation:
Dellinger interview.

56
to decline a glass:
Cutcher, FBI interview.

57
singled out for murder:
Jones interview.

58
Alka-Seltzer tablets:
[Name redacted], Navy ensign serving aboard the USS
Lynde McCormack
, interview by FBI, San Francisco, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA); [name redacted] of Bellevue, Wash., passenger aboard Western Airlines Flight 701, handwritten observational notes, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

59
“to be review ASAP”:
Willie Roger Holder, handwritten note, Jun. 2, 1972 (FOIA).

60
find that information useful:
Cutcher, FBI interview; Cutcher statement.

61
“gets me right”:
Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, 131; Donald Thompson, interview by FBI, Queens, N.Y., Jun. 4, 1972 (FOIA).

62
public address system:
Cutcher, FBI interview.

63
“Roger, stand by”:
Western Airlines Flight 701 communications, transcript.

64
lack of parachutes:
Crawford interview.

65
“a couple of minutes”:
Western Airlines Flight 701 communications, transcript.

66
“she got acquitted today”:
Crawford interview.

67
done on her behalf?:
Holder interview.

68
“Roger”:
Western Airlines Flight 701 communications, transcript.