Before she left, Mucklow begged Cooper, "Please, please take the bomb with you." Cooper responded that he would either disarm it or take it with him. As she walked to the cockpit and turned to close the curtain partition, she saw Cooper standing in the aisle tying what appeared to be the money bag around his waist. From takeoff to when Mucklow entered the cockpit, four to five minutes had elapsed. For the rest of the flight to Reno, Mucklow remained in the cockpit, and was the last person to see Cooper. Around 8:00 pm, a cockpit warning light flashed, indicating the aft staircase had been deployed. Scott used the plane's intercom to ask Cooper if he needed assistance, but Cooper's last message was a one-word reply: "No." The crew's ears popped from the drop in air pressure from the stairs being opened. At approximately 8:13 p.m., the aircraft's tail section suddenly pitched upward, forcing the pilots to trim and return the aircraft to level flight. In his interview with the FBI, Rataczak said the sudden upward pitch occurred while the flight was near the suburbs north of Portland.
Before she left, Mucklow begged Cooper, "Please, please take the bomb with you." Cooper responded that he would either disarm it or take it with him. As she walked to the cockpit and turned to close the curtain partition, she saw Cooper standing in the aisle tying what appeared to be the money bag around his waist From takeoff to when Mucklow entered the cockpit, four to five minutes had elapsed. For the rest of the flight to Reno, Mucklow remained in the cockpit, and was the last person to see Cooper. Around 8:00 pm, a cockpit warning light flashed, indicating the aft staircase had been deployed. Scott used the plane's intercom to ask Cooper if he needed assistance, but Cooper's last message was a one-word reply: "No." The crew's ears popped from the drop in air pressure from the stairs being opened. At approximately 8:13 p.m., the aircraft's tail section suddenly pitched upward, forcing the pilots to trim and return the aircraft to level flight. In his interview with the FBI, Rataczak said the sudden upward pitch occurred while the flight was near the suburbs north of Portland.