10/07/2022
The Southeast IP Group would like to introduce you to a true American hero (even though she is far too modest to ever describe herself that way), who also happens to be one of our clients.
Years ago, Florence “Flo” Shaffner was a 23 year old flight attendant for Northwest Airlines. On the day before Thanksgiving, on a short flight from Portland to Seattle, a mysterious man slipped a note to Flo. The note said that he had a bomb on board, and he then demanded $200,000 and four parachutes.
Who was that mysterious skyjacker?
The world knows him as DB Cooper.
After showing her the bomb in his briefcase, DB Cooper sent Flo to the cockpit to relay his demands. The flight crew did not tell the other passengers about the hijacking or the bomb. Instead, the pilot announced that the plane had experienced mechanical trouble, and would have to run most of the fuel out of the tanks before they could land. The plane went into a holding pattern for several hours while the FBI gathered the money and parachutes.
During those hours, Flo and the other flight attendants politely served free drinks to the passengers, who were irritated about the delay. She was also the conduit between DB Cooper and the cockpit, relaying information back and forth. Incredibly, Flo performed her duties with a smile on her face, pretending everything was cool, all the while knowing that DB Cooper could blow the plane out of the sky at any moment. Flo was also worried that the skyjacker was planning to take her hostage and make her jump out of the plane with him – why else would he need four parachutes?
She and the other flight attendants kept the situation from spiraling out of control, showing great courage, poise and grace in the face of terrifying danger. The passengers didn’t know anything about the hijacking until after they had disembarked from the plane, which is a credit to the flight attendants, all of whom were in their early 20’s.
Since that time, the legend of DB Cooper has grown to mythic proportions. Flo has lived her life quietly, out of the spotlight and away from media attention, in spite of their best efforts. She never does interviews or goes on talk shows, even after being constantly hounded by journalists, writers, HBO, Netflix, and countless others.
Flash forward to today: Our firm has been retained to represent Flo in a licensing negotiation with a brewery in Vancouver Washington to use Flo’s name on one of their flagship beers. Victor 23 Brewing, LLC is a DB Cooper themed craft brewery, and they are now selling SHAFFNER PILSNER, in honor of Flo’s heroism and poise under immense pressure.
Some interesting facts:
- Flo is the only known person to see DB Cooper’s face without sunglasses on, so she was instrumental in producing the FBI sketch shown below (both with and without the shades).
- The DB Cooper case is the only unsolved hijacking in the history of the world.
- The hijacker’s alias was actually Dan Cooper, but a media story mistakenly called him DB Cooper and the name stuck (see the signature on his plane ticket, pictured below).
- When the plane landed to get the money and parachutes, the ground crew that was refueling and servicing the plane was actually FBI agents working undercover. They had a sniper in place to take him out, but DB Cooper got wise to that and had Flo close all of the window shades, so they couldn’t get a shot.
- Flo was kind enough to provide us with several historical pictures below, and for that, we are forever grateful.
We are always humbled when we are asked to represent clients in these kinds of high profile cases. Thank you, Flo, for allowing us to protect your rights, and to be a small part of this amazing story of one of the most iconic crimes in American History. We won’t let you down!
Hat tip: Many thanks to Bert Brannon for the referral!
*Posted with permission from our client, and it is our honor and privilege to represent her.
