There was always something transfixing about this. A man calmly hijacks a commercial plane, expertly uses his leverage to collect $200,000 dollars, parachutes from the plane and is never seen again.
His relaxation and politeness remained curious throughout. He paid for his drinks, told the flight crew that if they were hungry he could include meals in his demands, and released all passengers the moment he got the money. The crew all described him as a gentleman. It's like something out of a movie, not reality.
He was very specific in his flight instructions. He told the pilots to fly at 115 mph, maintain an altitude of no more than 10,000 ft, to lower the wing flaps by 15 degrees, to keep the landing gear deployed, and to let the cabin remain unpressurized. He understood refueling needs and planned refueling stops. All that aside, he did jump out of a plane at night wearing only loafers and a suit in the middle of a rainstorm and cold conditions.
