The Audacious 1972 United Airlines Hijacking: Richard Floyd McCoy Jr.’s Parachute Escape and Capture
On April 7, 1972, the skies over the United States witnessed a daring act of air piracy when Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. hijacked a United Airlines flight. This brazen 1972 hijacking became one of the most infamous D.B. Cooper copycat incidents, drawing immediate parallels to the unsolved mystery of the elusive skyjacker. However, unlike his predecessor, Richard Floyd McCoy Jr.‘s attempt to vanish with a ransom was ultimately thwarted by relentless FBI pursuit.
The Daring Hijack of United Airlines Flight 855
The harrowing events of April 7, 1972, unfolded aboard United Airlines Flight 855, a Boeing 727 en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California. With 85 passengers and a crew of six, the flight made a scheduled stopover in Denver, Colorado. It was here that Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. boarded the aircraft. Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, at 5:18 p.m., McCoy made his move, revealing a hand grenade to a flight attendant from his seat, initiating a terrifying ordeal for everyone on board.
A quick-thinking stewardess immediately alerted the captain, Gerry D. Hearn. An off-duty pilot, present as a passenger, was asked to discreetly assess the situation, only to find McCoy brandishing a pistol as he approached. The hijacker then handed over a sealed envelope containing “hijack instructions” and demanded it be taken to the captain. Most passengers remained oblivious to the unfolding drama as Captain Hearn, consulting with his crew, made the decision to land at Grand Junction, Colorado, to seek law enforcement assistance.
However, McCoy’s meticulous plan quickly became evident. The instructions, two typed pages accompanied by a hand grenade pin and a bullet, explicitly detailed demands for landing at San Francisco International Airport, parking at “Runway 19 left,” and following strict procedures regarding ground personnel and vehicles. McCoy demanded a substantial ransom of $500,000 in cash, four parachutes, and the return of all written instructions. Realizing the gravity of the situation and prioritizing passenger safety, United Air Lines officials in San Francisco agreed to meet his demands.
The aircraft diverted to San Francisco, landing at 4:15 p.m. and taxiing to a remote runway. Two flight bags filled with cash and the four requested parachutes were delivered to the plane. McCoy, now fully in command, had his luggage brought aboard and watched as the plane was refueled. After approximately three hours, he released the 85 passengers and one stewardess, ordering the remaining crew into the cockpit and taking up position in the rear of the aircraft. From this vantage point, he issued a new set of hand-printed flight instructions via intercom, directing the pilot to fly east at 16,000 feet, precisely at 200 mph, over specific Utah communities. He ordered the cabin depressurized and threatened to detonate a hidden explosive device if pursuit planes were sighted, before he made his jump. California Highway Patrol was alerted to watch for “flares and parachutes,” while two F-104 jets from Hamilton Air Force Base were dispatched to shadow the jetliner discreetly.
The Audacious Parachute Escape and FBI’s Immediate Response
As the flight continued, Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. prepared for his escape. Second Officer K.W. Owen observed through a slight gap under the cockpit door as McCoy opened his luggage, covered the peephole, and quickly donned a jumpsuit, helmet, and parachute. He extinguished the cabin lights to better view the ground and consistently demanded updates on wind, ground, and air speeds, altimeter settings, and sky conditions. After the plane passed over the last designated Utah community, the flow of notes abruptly ceased.
A stewardess cautiously ventured into the passenger area, confirming the hijacker had indeed bailed out with the ransom in north-central Utah’s rugged canyon lands. The alarm was raised, and within moments, helicopters and jeep posses were mobilized, converging on the suspected jump zone. Five hours after the United Airlines hijacking began, the exhausted crew landed the Boeing 727 at Salt Lake City International Airport, where FBI agents were already waiting.
Upon landing, the FBI launched an immediate and thorough search of the plane’s interior for any clues left behind by the elusive hijacker. Every object McCoy might have touched was meticulously examined. Agents collected an array of potential evidence, including seat belts, gum wrappers, cigarette butts, and a copy of Mainliner Magazine, the airline’s passenger publication. Crucially, a hand-printed note that the hijacker had failed to retrieve was sent to the FBI Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for forensic scrutiny. The investigation also revealed that the hand grenade displayed by McCoy was, in fact, merely a paperweight designed to resemble a real grenade, a detail that further highlighted his calculated deception.
Unmasking Richard Floyd McCoy Jr.: The FBI’s Relentless Pursuit
The FBI’s painstaking work continued as agents interviewed crew members and passengers, piecing together a detailed description of the perpetrator. He was described as a bespectacled, mustached man, approximately 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing between 160 and 170 pounds, and wearing a dark suit, black leather gloves, and a wig. Passengers also recalled an unusual incident in Denver where a passenger agent had sought the owner of an envelope left in the waiting room. The individual claiming it then spent an extended period in the lavatory, leading to the consensus that he had donned the wig and mustache there. Some passengers even believed more than one person was involved, due to the use of “we” in some of the hijacker’s notes.
The search for Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. intensified, with ground teams, including FBI agents, Provo City Police, and the Utah County Sheriff’s posse, combing the rural areas near Provo, Utah, where evidence suggested the hijacker had landed. The breakthrough came the next morning when the Salt Lake City FBI office received a telephone call from a concerned citizen. This individual revealed that an acquaintance had previously outlined a “foolproof” plan for hijacking an airplane.
The acquaintance was identified as Richard Floyd McCoy Jr., a 29-year-old Vietnam veteran who had completed two tours of duty. He was a helicopter pilot with the Green Berets, an avid and highly capable skydiver, and a member of the Utah Air National Guard. At the time, McCoy was also a Police Science Major at Brigham Young University, harboring aspirations of becoming a Utah State Trooper, despite facing severe financial difficulties. The Department of the Army provided McCoy’s handwriting samples from its records for comparison with the note left on the plane. Initially, McCoy denied any involvement and offered a fresh handwriting sample, claiming innocence and not being detained at that time.
However, the mounting forensic evidence soon sealed his fate. The FBI Laboratory’s handwriting expert conclusively determined that McCoy had written the note found on the plane. Furthermore, fingerprint specialists matched a latent print from the Mainliner Magazine, found next to the hijacker’s seat, to a print from McCoy’s military service records. The crucial physical evidence of his escape was discovered when a 14-year-old boy in Provo, Utah, found what he believed to be a parachute pack beside a steel culvert. This proved to be one of the four parachutes supplied during the hijacking. Additional leads developed from eyewitnesses: an employee at a roadside hamburger stand recalled selling McCoy a milkshake around 11:30 p.m. on the night of the crime, and a teenager reported giving a man fitting McCoy’s description a five-dollar ride from the stand to a nearby town.
Capture, Conviction, and the Tragic End of McCoy’s Crime Spree
With overwhelming evidence against him, a federal complaint charging McCoy with aircraft piracy and interfering with flight crew members was filed on April 9. Later that same day, an arrest warrant was obtained, and Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. was taken into custody by FBI agents at his Provo home. A subsequent search of his residence under a warrant yielded significant incriminating evidence: various skydiving equipment, an electric typewriter with key impressions matching those on the typed hijacking instructions, and, most tellingly, $499,970 in U.S. currency, almost the entire ransom. A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City formally indicted McCoy on April 14, 1972.
Just two months later, McCoy was tried in U.S. District Court. Despite his steadfast claims of innocence, the compelling evidence led to his conviction, with the court determining he had acted alone. He was sentenced to a term of 45 years in prison. McCoy appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, but his petition was denied on October 9, 1973, solidifying his fate.
However, McCoy’s criminal saga was far from over. Two years into his sentence, in 1974, he orchestrated a dramatic escape from Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary with several accomplices by crashing a garbage truck through the main gate. The fugitive remained at large for three months before being tracked down in Virginia Beach, Virginia. There, his desperate flight from justice ended tragically in a fatal shootout with FBI agents, bringing a definitive close to the infamous case of the Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. hijacking.
Conclusion: A Hijacking Defined by Capture
The story of Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. stands as a riveting chapter in the history of air piracy, especially within the context of the D.B. Cooper copycat phenomenon. His meticulous planning, military background, and daring parachute escape mirrored the legend that inspired him, yet his ultimate capture provided a stark contrast to Cooper’s enduring mystery. The comprehensive FBI investigation, leveraging forensic science and citizen tips, showcased the relentless dedication of law enforcement in bringing perpetrators to justice. McCoy’s case serves as a powerful reminder that while the allure of a perfect crime may tempt, the long arm of the law often prevails, even against the most audacious of sky bandits.
