Here's an article re. Scott on the occasion of his death. Note what his wife said he said about public info concerning the hijacking. The presentation to the aero club is also available online.
'D.B. Cooper' pilot dies; William Scott never talked much about 1971 skyjacking
March 15, 2001
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter
For 30 years, William "Scotty" Scott said little about the world's most famous skyjacking,
shunning assorted authors and movie producers who came knocking at his door.
Mr. Scott died of prostate cancer Sunday at his home in Green Valley, Ariz., taking to the
grave much of what he knew about that fateful night, said his wife, Frances. "When he came
home that night," she said, "he told his family about it, and that was the end of it. He
was a very quiet man. Very reserved."
Only in recent years had he begun to talk about the skyjacking that perplexed the FBI and
continues to rivet those who think Cooper may have survived the jump of 10,000 feet into
the blackness of a storm over Southwest Washington.
Her husband was convinced Cooper died in the leap, said Frances Scott. "He felt he jumped
into Lake Merwin (Cowlitz County) and got tangled up in dead trees and died," she said.
On the 25th anniversary of the heist, Mr. Scott spoke to a local pilots club.
Mr. Scott never saw Cooper. "He was intent on flying the plane and being able to get people
out of there alive and save the aircraft for Northwest," said his widow. Little by little,
she said, her husband had begun to talk about it the past few years. "It was good for him,"
she said. "In later years, he'd get mad at authors. Scotty would say, 'No, that's not the
way it happened.' They weren't there; he was."
