To the members of the Dropzone online forum: The curators for the Washington State Historical Society’s exhibition, COOPER, currently on display at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, would like to share some information regarding new additions recently made to both our museum’s temporary exhibition and online gallery on the WSHS website, relating to the history and investigation of the hijacking that occurred on November 24, 1971. Among the new additions now on display for review, are a 1:50 scale model of the Boeing 727-051 aircraft that served as Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305, fabricated with a “cutaway” view of the aircraft for viewing the interior spaces; and original notes and documents on loan from the family of George Harrison, the Northwest Airlines executive at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport who coordinated the hijacker’s demands with the FBI and local law enforcement. The archives from Mr. Harrison include documents never before seen by the public, including 23 pages of handwritten notes with a timeline of the hijacking as it unfolded; a refueling receipt for the Northwest aircraft; copy of the check made out to Seafirst National Bank, for the $200,000 ransom amount paid to the hijacker; and an original copy of the teletype transcript of communications, between the crew of flight 305 and Sea-Tac Airport. The Washington State Historical Society has obtained special permission from the lender, to digitize and make available the 23 pages of notes by George Harrison, and offer these for review as part of our COOPER gallery of media and information, and which may be accessed at the following URL: http://collections.washingtonhistory.org/details.aspx?id=122775 In addition, we also have new interviews from NW flight 305 passenger Bill Mitchell, and Wally Johnson, Ret. USAF, who was one of the loadmasters for the 727 test flight conducted January 6, 1972. We are pleased as well, that all of these recent additions have come to WSHS from sources who have just recently contacted our organization and come forward, since the exhibition opened on August 25, 2013. Please join us this year on November 30, 2013, when WSHS hosts the annual Cooper symposium at the Washington State History Museum (information here: http://www.washingtonhistory.org/events.aspx?eid=141&pid=0). The exhibition will be on display through January 5, 2014 in Tacoma, and hope each of you may have an opportunity to come visit and see firsthand the history behind both Dan Cooper and the legacy of air travel security we have today. Regards, WSHS
