The plane parked away from the main terminal. A Northwest Orient agent approached with the ransom money in a cloth bag. A vehicle also delivered the four parachutes. Cooper reviewed the situation and accepted the money and the chutes. He allowed all 36 passengers to leave the plane. He also released two of the four flight attendants—Florence Schaffner and Alice Hancock.
Remaining on board were Captain Scott, First Officer Rataczak, flight engineer Anderson, and flight attendant Tina Mucklow, who had joined the negotiations partway through the ordeal. Mucklow has since described Cooper as polite, perhaps even courteous, throughout the hours he held the flight. He did not threaten the crew physically during the extended wait.
Cooper told the crew his destination: Mexico City, with a refueling stop in Reno, Nevada. He gave instructions for how the flight should be conducted. The landing gear was to remain extended during flight. The aircraft was to fly no higher than 10,000 feet. The cabin was to remain unpressurized. The speed was to be kept slow—below 150 knots, or approximately 170 miles per hour. These conditions were below normal operating parameters, and the crew communicated that the aircraft could not make it to Mexico City at that speed without refueling in Reno. Cooper accepted this.
The plane took off from Sea-Tac at approximately 7:40 in the evening.
Shortly after takeoff, Cooper told Mucklow to go to the cockpit and close the door.
That was the last time anyone who survived the night is known to have seen Dan Cooper.