
He and a crew of convicts (Joseph Havel, Larry L. Once incarcerated at the Federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, McCoy used his access to the prison's dental office to fashion a fake handgun out of dental paste. McCoy claimed innocence, but was convicted of the hijacking and received a 45-year sentence. Inside his house, FBI agents found a jumpsuit and a duffel bag filled with cash totaling $499,970.

McCoy was on National Guard duty flying one of the helicopters involved in the search for the hijacker. įollowing fingerprint and handwriting matches, McCoy was arrested two days after the hijacking. McCoy had also described to an acquaintance how easy it would be to carry out such a hijacking.
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The driver had picked up McCoy hitch-hiking at a fast-food restaurant, where McCoy was wearing a jumpsuit and carrying a duffel bag. Police began investigating McCoy following a tip from a motorist. McCoy had obtained a $500,000 cash ransom, and carried a hand-grenade and a pistol. Cooper incident), via which McCoy escaped in mid-flight by parachute after giving the crew similar instructions as Cooper had. The aircraft was a Boeing 727 with aft stairs (the same equipment used in the D. On April 7, 1972, McCoy boarded United Airlines Flight 855, a Boeing 727-22C (Registration: N7426U) en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California, with 85 passengers and a crew of six piloted by Captain Jerry Hearn, under the alias "James Johnson" during a stopover in Denver, Colorado. Criminal career Īnimation showing the same modus operandi as D. His purported dream was to become an FBI or CIA agent. McCoy taught Mormon Sunday school and studied law enforcement at BYU. Upon returning to Utah, he served as a warrant officer in the Utah National Guard and was an avid skydiver. McCoy served another term in the Army on the condition he could go to Vietnam, where he was awarded both the Army Commendation Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross. By 1971 they had two children, Chanti and Richard. In 1965, McCoy returned to BYU, where he met Karen Louise Burns. He served in Vietnam as a demolition expert and pilot and was awarded the Purple Heart in 1964. In 1962 McCoy moved to Provo, Utah, and enrolled at Brigham Young University before dropping out to serve a two-year tour of duty in the Army.

McCoy was born December 7, 1942, in the town of Kinston, North Carolina, to Richard Floyd McCoy Sr. Due to a similar modus operandi, McCoy has been proposed as the person responsible for the November 1971 hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, attributed to the still-unidentified " D. McCoy hijacked a United Airlines passenger jet for ransom in April 1972. (Decem– November 9, 1974) was an American aircraft hijacker.
