—
## The People Who Were There
The experience of being on Flight 305 on November 24, 1971, was one that the crew and passengers carried with them for the rest of their lives.
Tina Mucklow was the flight attendant who spent the most time with Cooper. She sat beside him during the extended wait at Sea-Tac, served him drinks, and relayed his instructions to the cockpit. She has described him in interviews as polite, even pleasant—a characterization that has contributed to the peculiar folklore of the case, in which Cooper is sometimes romanticized as a dashing antihero rather than treated as someone who threatened an aircraft full of people with an apparent bomb.
Mucklow’s account of Cooper’s demeanor is an important piece of the historical record, but it should be understood in context. People in high-stress situations sometimes perceive their captors as more sympathetic than the situation warrants—a psychological response that has been documented in hostage and hijacking situations. That does not mean Mucklow’s memory is wrong; it means that Cooper’s surface presentation of calm politeness may or may not have accurately reflected what he was actually doing or what he was willing to do.
Florence Schaffner was the flight attendant who first received Cooper’s note and who spent time with him before being released with the passengers. Her account of what happened in those early minutes—the note, the open briefcase, the apparent bomb—is the primary source for how Cooper communicated his demands.
Captain William Scott flew the aircraft under conditions dictated by a man with an apparent bomb on board. The experience of flying a major commercial jet at low altitude, with gear extended, at reduced speed, into the dark while your aircraft is effectively held hostage is not one that can be minimized. Scott and his crew performed their jobs professionally under circumstances that were dangerous and stressful by any measure.