J.D. Reed"s 1980 novel Free Fall was used as a basis for the 1981 film The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper. In this book the Skyjacker is J. R. Meade, a loner, a Green Beret medal winner, a Vietnam veteran, who has a plan to use a phony bomb to ransom a skyjacked plane for $750,000 and then parachute to safety. Chasing him is Bill Gruen, FAA inspector in charge of skyjacking, who is the man who taught Meade his survival skills in Vietnam.