D. B. Cooper, also known as Dan Cooper, was an unidentified man who hijackedNorthwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 aircraft, in United States airspace on November 24, 1971. During the flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, Cooper told a flight attendant he had a bomb, demanded $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to approximately $1,500,000 in 2024)[1][2] and four parachutes upon landing in Seattle. After releasing the passengers in Seattle, Cooper instructed the flight crew to refuel the aircraft and begin a second flight to Mexico City, with a refueling stop in Reno, Nevada. About thirty minutes after taking off from Seattle, Cooper opened the aircraft's aft door, deployed the staircase, and parachuted into the night over southwestern Washington. Cooper's true identity and whereabouts have never been determined conclusively.
In 1980, a small portion of the ransom money was found along the banks of the Columbia River near Vancouver, Washington. The discovery of the money renewed public interest in the mystery but yielded no additional information about Cooper's identity or fate, and the remaining money was never recovered. For forty-five years after the hijacking, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintained an active investigation and built an extensive case file but ultimately did not reach any definitive conclusions. The crime remains the only documented unsolved case of air piracy in the history of commercial aviation. The FBI speculates Cooper did not survive his jump for several reasons: the inclement weather, Cooper's lack of proper skydiving equipment, the forested terrain into which he jumped, his lack of detailed knowledge of his landing area and the disappearance of the remaining ransom money, suggesting it was never spent. In July 2016, the FBI officially suspended active investigation of the case, although reporters, enthusiasts, professional investigators and amateur sleuths continue to pursue numerous theories for Cooper's identity, success and fate.
Cooper's hijacking — and several imitators during the next year — immediately prompted major upgrades to security measures for airports and commercial aviation. Metal detectors were installed at airports, baggage inspection became mandatory and passengers who paid cash for tickets on the day of departure were selected for additional scrutiny. Boeing 727s were retrofitted with eponymous "Cooper vanes", designed to prevent the aft staircase from being lowered in-flight. By 1973, aircraft hijacking incidents had decreased, as the new security measures dissuaded would-be hijackers whose only motive was money.
Hijacking
FBI wanted poster of D. B. Cooper
On Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1971, a man carrying a black attaché case approached the flight counter for Northwest Orient Airlines at Portland International Airport. Using cash,[3] the man bought a one-way ticket on Flight 305, a thirty-minute trip north to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). On his ticket, the man listed his name as "Dan Cooper." Eyewitnesses described Cooper as a white male in his mid-40s, with dark hair and brown eyes, wearing a black or brown business suit, a white shirt, a thin black tie, a black raincoat and brown shoes.[3][4]:294 Carrying a briefcase and a brown paper bag,[4]:294 Cooper boarded Flight 305, a Boeing 727-100 (FAA registration N467US). Cooper took seat 18-E in the last row and ordered a drink, a bourbon and 7-Up from a flight attendant.[5][6]
With a crew of six (consisting of Captain William A. Scott, First Officer William "Bill" J. Rataczak, Flight Engineer Harold E. Anderson and flight attendants Alice Hancock, Tina Mucklow and Florence Schaffner) and thirty-six passengers aboard, including Cooper, Flight 305 left Portland on-schedule at 2:50pm PST.[7][8] Shortly after takeoff, Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Schaffner, who was sitting in the jump seat at the rear of the airplane,[9]:159 directly behind Cooper. Assuming the note was a lonely businessman's telephone number, Schaffner dropped the note unopened into her purse.[10] Cooper then leaned toward her and whispered, "Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb."[11]
Schaffner opened the note. In neat, all-capital letters printed with a felt-tip pen,[12] Cooper had written, "Miss—I have a bomb in my briefcase and want you to sit by me."[13] Schaffner returned the note to Cooper,[14] sat down as he requested, and asked quietly to see the bomb. He opened his briefcase, and she saw two rows of four red cylinders, which she assumed were dynamite. Attached to the cylinders were a wire and a large, cylindrical battery, which resembled a bomb.[a][15]
Cooper closed the briefcase and told Schaffner his demands. She wrote a note with Cooper's demands, brought it to the cockpit and informed the flight crew of the situation. Captain Scott directed her to remain in the cockpit for the remainder of the flight and take notes of events as they happened.[13] He then relayed to Northwest flight operations in Minnesota the hijacker's demands: "[Cooper] requests $200,000 in a knapsack by 5:00 pm. He wants two front parachutes, two back parachutes. He wants the money in negotiable American currency."[16][b] By requesting two sets of parachutes, Cooper implied he planned to take a hostage with him, thereby discouraging authorities from supplying non-functional equipment.[17]
With Schaffner in the cockpit, flight attendant Mucklow sat next to Cooper to act as a liaison between him and the flight crew.[18][9]:160 Cooper then made additional demands: upon landing at Sea-Tac, fuel trucks were to meet the plane and all passengers were to remain seated while Mucklow brought the money aboard. He said he would release the passengers after he had the money. The last items brought aboard would be the four parachutes.[9]:160
Scott informed Sea–Tac air traffic control of the situation, who contacted the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The passengers were told their arrival in Seattle would be delayed because of a "minor mechanical difficulty."[19]Donald Nyrop, the president of Northwest at the time, authorized payment of the ransom and ordered all employees to cooperate with the hijacker and comply with his demands.[20] For approximately two hours, Flight 305 circled Puget Sound to give the SPD and the FBI sufficient time to assemble Cooper's ransom money and parachutes, and to mobilize emergency personnel.[21]
During the flight from Portland to Seattle, Cooper demanded Mucklow remain by his side at all times.[9]:150 She later said Cooper appeared familiar with the local terrain; while looking out the window, he remarked, "Looks like Tacoma down there", as the aircraft flew above it. When told the parachutes were coming from McChord Air Force Base, Cooper correctly noted McChord was only a twenty-minute drive from Sea-Tac.[9]:156 She later described the hijacker's demeanor: "[Cooper] was not nervous. He seemed rather nice and he was not cruel or nasty."[22]:174
While the airplane circled Seattle, Mucklow chatted with Cooper and asked why he chose Northwest Airlines to hijack. He laughed and replied, "It's not because I have a grudge against your airlines, it's just because I have a grudge," then explained the flight simply suited his needs.[9]:161 He asked where she was from; she answered she was originally from Pennsylvania, but was living in Minneapolis at the time. Cooper responded that Minnesota was "very nice country."[9]:161 She asked where he was from, but he became upset and refused to answer.[9]:160 He asked if she smoked and offered her a cigarette. She replied she had quit, but accepted the cigarette.[9]:161
FBI records note Cooper spoke briefly to an unidentified passenger while the airplane maintained its holding pattern over Seattle. In his interview with FBI agents, passenger George Labissoniere stated he visited the restroom directly behind Cooper on several occasions. After one visit, Labissoniere said the path to his seat was blocked by a passenger wearing a cowboy hat, questioning Mucklow about the supposed mechanical problem delaying them. Labissoniere said Cooper was initially amused by the interaction, then became irritated and told the man to return to his seat, but "the cowboy" ignored Cooper and continued to question Mucklow. Labissoniere claimed he eventually persuaded "the cowboy" to return to his seat.[23]:170
Mucklow's version of the interaction differed from Labissoniere's. She said a passenger approached her and asked for a sports magazine to read because he was bored. She and the passenger moved to an area directly behind Cooper, where they both looked for magazines. The passenger took a copy of The New Yorker and returned to his seat. When Mucklow returned to sit with Cooper, he said, "If that is a sky marshal, I don't want any more of that", but she reassured him there were no sky marshals on the flight.[9]:161 Despite his brief interaction with Cooper, "the cowboy" was not interviewed by the FBI and was never identified.[24]
The $200,000 ransom was received from Seattle First National Bank in a bag weighing approximately nineteen pounds (8.5kg).[25]:123 The money—10,000 unmarked $20 bills, most of which had serial numbers beginning with "L" (indicating issuance by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco[26])—was photographed on microfilm by the FBI.[23]:101 Seattle police obtained the two front (reserve) parachutes from a local skydiving school and the two back (main) parachutes from a local stunt pilot.[27]
Around 5:24 PST, Scott was informed the parachutes had been delivered to Sea-Tac and notified Cooper they would be landing soon. At 5:46 PST, Flight 305 landed at Sea-Tac.[9]:163 With Cooper's permission, Scott parked the aircraft on a partially-lit runway, away from the main terminal.[9]:163 Cooper demanded only one representative of the airline approach the plane with the parachutes and money, and the only entrance and exit would be through the aircraft's front door via mobile stairs.[28]:15
Northwest's Seattle operations manager, Al Lee, was designated to be the courier. To avoid the possibility Cooper might mistake Lee's airline uniform for a law enforcement officer, he changed into civilian clothes for the task.[29] With the passengers remaining seated, a ground crew attached a mobile stair. Per Cooper's directive, Mucklow exited the aircraft through the front door and retrieved the ransom money. When she returned, she carried the money bag past the seated passengers to Cooper in the last row.[30][9]:163
Cooper then agreed to release the passengers.[6] As they debarked, Cooper inspected the money. In an attempt to break the tension, Mucklow jokingly asked Cooper if she could have some of it. Cooper readily agreed and handed her a packet of bills, but she immediately returned the money and explained accepting gratuities was against company policy. She said Cooper had tried to tip her and the other two flight attendants earlier in the flight with money from his pocket, but they had each declined, citing the policy.[9]:163
With the passengers safely debarked, only Cooper and the six crew members remained aboard.[9]:153 In accordance with Cooper's demands, Mucklow made three trips outside the aircraft to retrieve the parachutes, which she brought to him in the rear of the plane.[9]:152–153 While Mucklow brought aboard the parachutes, Schaffner asked Cooper if she could retrieve her purse, stored in a compartment behind his seat. Cooper agreed and told her, "I won't bite you." Flight attendant Hancock then asked Cooper if the flight attendants could leave, to which he replied, "Whatever you girls would like,"[31][9]:163 so Hancock and Schaffner debarked. When Mucklow brought the final parachute to Cooper, she gave him printed instructions for using the parachutes, but Cooper said he didn't need them.[9]:163
A problem with the refueling process caused a delay, so a second truck and then a third were brought to the aircraft to complete the refueling.[32] During the delay, Mucklow said Cooper complained the money was delivered in a cloth bag instead of a knapsack as he had directed, and he now had to improvise a new way to transport the money.[9]:163 Using a pocket knife, he cut the canopy from one of the reserve parachutes, and stuffed some of the money into the empty parachute bag.[9]:155
An FAA official requested a face-to-face meeting with Cooper aboard the aircraft, but Cooper denied the request.[33] Cooper became impatient, saying, "This shouldn't take so long," and, "Let's get this show on the road."[34][35] He then gave the cockpit crew his flight plan and directives: a southeast course toward Mexico City at the minimum airspeed possible without stalling the aircraft—approximately 100 knots (185km/h; 115mph)—at a maximum 10,000-foot (3,000m) altitude. Cooper also specified the landing gear must remain deployed, the wing flaps must be lowered 15 degrees and the cabin must remain unpressurized.[36]
First Officer Rataczak informed Cooper that the configuration limited the aircraft's range to about 1,000 miles (1,600km), so a second refueling would be necessary before entering Mexico. Cooper and the crew discussed options, and agreed on Reno–Tahoe International Airport as the refueling stop.[37][38] Cooper further directed the aircraft take off with the rear exit door open and its airstair extended.[39] Northwest officials objected for reasons of safety, but Cooper countered by saying, "It can be done, do it," but then did not insist and said he would lower the staircase once they were airborne.[39] Cooper demanded Mucklow remain aboard to assist the operation.[9]:153
Back in the air
Crew of Flight 305 upon landing in Reno: (left to right) Captain William Scott, Co-pilot Bill Rataczak, Flight Attendant Tina Mucklow, Flight Engineer Harold E. Anderson
Around 7:40pm, Flight 305 took off, with only Cooper, Mucklow, Scott, Rataczak and Flight Engineer Anderson aboard.[40] Two F-106 fighters from McChord Air Force Base[41] and a Lockheed T-33 trainer—diverted from an unrelated Air National Guard mission—followed the 727. All three jets maintained "S" flight patterns to stay behind the slow-moving 727,[22]:141 and out of Cooper's view. After takeoff, Cooper told Mucklow to lower the aft staircase. She told him and the flight crew she feared being sucked out of the aircraft.[9]:156 The flight crew suggested she come to the cockpit and retrieve an emergency rope with which she could tie herself to a seat. Cooper rejected the suggestion, stating he did not want her going up front or the flight crew coming back to the cabin.[9]:164 She continued to express her fear to him, and asked him to cut some cord from one of the parachutes to create a safety line for her. He said he would lower the stairs himself,[9]:164 instructed her to go to the cockpit, close the curtain partition between the Coach and First Class sections and not return.[9]:156
Before she left, Mucklow begged Cooper, "Please, please take the bomb with you."[18] Cooper responded that he would either disarm it or take it with him.[9]:164 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.[42][9]:164 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,[9]:164 and was the last person to see Cooper. Around 8:00pm, 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[43] was a one-word reply: "No."[35] The crew's ears popped from the drop in air pressure from the stairs being opened.[44] At approximately 8:13p.m., the aircraft's tail section suddenly pitched upward, forcing the pilots to trim and return the aircraft to level flight.[45] In his interview with the FBI, Rataczak said the sudden upward pitch occurred while the flight was near the suburbs north of Portland.[9]:322
With the aft cabin door open and the staircase deployed, the flight crew remained in the cockpit, unsure if Cooper was still aboard. Mucklow used the intercom to inform Cooper they were approaching Reno and that he needed to raise the stairs so the airplane could land safely. She repeated her requests as the pilots made the final approach to land, but neither Mucklow nor the flight crew received a reply from Cooper.[9]:164 At 11:02pm, with the aft staircase still deployed, Flight 305 landed at Reno–Tahoe International Airport.[46] FBI agents, state troopers, sheriff's deputies and Reno police established a perimeter around the aircraft but, fearing the hijacker and the bomb were still aboard, did not approach the plane. Scott searched the cabin, confirmed Cooper was no longer aboard and, after a thirty-minute search, an FBI bomb squad declared the cabin safe.[47]
Investigation
In addition to sixty-six latent fingerprints aboard the plane,[48] FBI agents recovered Cooper's black clip-on tie, tie clip and two of the four parachutes,[b] one of which had been opened and had three shroud lines cut from the canopy.[49] FBI agents interviewed eyewitnesses in Portland, Seattle and Reno, and developed a series of composite sketches.[50]
Local police and FBI agents immediately began questioning possible suspects.[3] In a rush to meet a deadline, reporter James Long recorded the name "Dan Cooper" as "D. B. Cooper".[51][52]United Press Internationalwire service reporter Clyde Jabin republished Long's error,[53][54] and as other media sources repeated the error,[55] the hijacker's pseudonym became "D. B. Cooper."[45] Acting on the possibility the hijacker may have used his real name (or the same alias in a previous crime), Portland police discovered and interviewed a Portland citizen named D. B. Cooper. The Portland Cooper had a minor police record, but was quickly eliminated as a suspect.
An animation of the 727's rear airstair deploying in flight, with Cooper jumping off: The gravity-operated apparatus remained open until the aircraft landed.
Due to the number of variables and parameters, precisely defining the area to search was difficult. The jet's airspeed estimates varied, the environmental conditions along the flight path varied with the aircraft's location and altitude,[9]:300 and only Cooper knew how long he remained in free-fall before pulling his ripcord.[35] The F-106 pilots neither saw anyone jumping from the airliner, nor did their radar detect a deployed parachute. A black-clad man jumping into the moonless night would be difficult to see, especially given the limited visibility, cloud cover and lack of ground lighting.[56] The T-33 pilots did not make visual contact with the 727.[57]
On December 6, 1971, FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover approved the use of an Air Force SR-71 Blackbird to retrace and photograph Flight 305's flightpath,[58] and attempt to locate the items Cooper carried during his jump.[59]:340 The SR-71 made five flights to retrace Flight 305's route, but due to poor visibility, the photography attempts were unsuccessful.[59]:340
In an experimental recreation, flying the same aircraft used in the hijacking in the same flight configuration, FBI agents pushed a 200-pound (91kg) sled out of the open airstair and were able to reproduce the upward motion of the tail section and brief change in cabin pressure described by the flight crew at 8:13pm.[60][61] Initial extrapolations placed Cooper's landing zone within an area on the southernmost outreach of Mount St. Helens, a few miles southeast of Ariel, Washington, near Lake Merwin, an artificial lake formed by a dam on the Lewis River.[62] Search efforts concentrated on Clark and Cowlitz counties, encompassing the terrain immediately south and north of the Lewis River in southwest Washington.[63][64] FBI agents and sheriff's deputies searched large areas of the largely forested terrain on foot and by helicopter. Door-to-door searches of local farmhouses were also performed. Other search parties ran patrol boats along Lake Merwin and Yale Lake, the reservoir immediately to its east.[65] Neither Cooper nor any of the equipment he presumably carried was found.[65]
Using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from the Oregon Army National Guard, the FBI coordinated an aerial search along the entire flight path (known as Victor 23 in U.S. aviation terminology,[66] and as "Vector 23" in most Cooper literature)[48][67] from Seattle to Reno. Although numerous broken treetops and several pieces of plastic and other objects resembling parachute canopies were sighted and investigated, nothing relevant to the hijacking was found.[68]
Soon after the spring thaw in early 1972, teams of FBI agents aided by some 200 soldiers from Fort Lewis, along with United States Air Force personnel, National Guardsmen, and civilian volunteers, conducted another thorough ground search of Clark and Cowlitz Counties for 18 days in March, and then another 18 days in April.[69] Electronic Explorations Company, a marine-salvage firm, used a submarine to search the 200-foot (61m) depths of Lake Merwin.[70] Two local women stumbled upon a skeleton in an abandoned structure in Clark County; it was later identified as the remains of Barbara Ann Derry, a teenaged girl who had been abducted and murdered several weeks before.[22]:79[71] Ultimately, the extensive search and recovery operation uncovered no significant material evidence related to the hijacking.[72]
Based on early computer projections produced for the FBI, Cooper's drop zone was first estimated to be between Ariel dam to the north and the town of Battle Ground, Washington, to the south.[73] In March 1972, after a joint investigation with Northwest Orient Airlines and the Air Force, the FBI determined Cooper probably jumped over the town of La Center, Washington.[74][75]
In 2019, the FBI released a report detailing the burglary of a grocery store, about three hours after Cooper jumped, near Heisson, Washington. Heisson, an unincorporated community, was within the calculated drop zone Northwest Airlines presented to the FBI.[76] In the report, the FBI noted the burglar took only survival items, such as beef jerky and gloves. However, the report notes that the burglar wore "military type boots with a corregated [sic] sole", while Cooper was described as wearing slip-on shoes.[77]:124[77]:69
Search for ransom money
A month after the hijacking, the FBI distributed lists of the ransom serial numbers to financial institutions, casinos, racetracks, businesses with routine transactions involving large amounts of cash, and to law-enforcement agencies around the world. Northwest Orient offered a reward of 15% of the recovered money, to a maximum of $25,000. In early 1972, U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell released the serial numbers to the general public.[78] Two men used counterfeit $20 bills printed with Cooper serial numbers to swindle $30,000 from a Newsweek reporter named Karl Fleming in exchange for an interview with a man they falsely claimed was the hijacker.[79][80]
In early 1973, with the ransom money still missing, The Oregon Journal republished the serial numbers and offered $1,000 to the first person to turn in a ransom bill to the newspaper or any FBI field office. In Seattle, the Post-Intelligencer made a similar offer with a $5,000 reward. The offers remained in effect until Thanksgiving 1974, and though several near matches were reported, no genuine bills were found.[81] In 1975, Northwest Orient's insurer, Global Indemnity Co., complied with an order from the Minnesota Supreme Court and paid the airline's $180,000 (equivalent to $1,019,221in 2023) claim on the ransom money.[82]
Later developments
Analysis of the flight data indicated the first estimated location of Cooper's landing zone was inaccurate. Captain Scott—who was flying the aircraft manually because of Cooper's speed and altitude demands—determined the flight path was farther east than initially reported.[83] Additional data provided by Continental Airlines pilot Tom Bohan—who was flying four minutes behind Flight 305—led the FBI to recalculate their estimates for Cooper's drop zone. Bohan noted the FBI's calculations for Cooper's drop zone were based on incorrectly-recorded wind direction, and therefore the FBI's estimates were inaccurate.[84]
Based on Bohan's data and subsequent recalculations of the flight path, the FBI determined Cooper's drop zone was probably over the Washougal Riverwatershed.[85] In 1986, FBI Agent Ralph Himmelsbach wrote, "I have to confess, if I were going to look for Cooper... I would head for the Washougal."[86] The Washougal Valley and the surrounding areas have been repeatedly searched but no discoveries traceable to the hijacking have been reported,[83] and the FBI believes any remaining physical clues were probably destroyed in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.[87]
Investigation suspended
On July 8, 2016, the FBI announced active investigation of the Cooper case was suspended, citing the need to deploy investigative resources and manpower on issues of greater and more urgent priority. Local field offices would continue to accept any legitimate physical evidence, related specifically to the parachutes or to the ransom money. The 66-volume case file compiled during the 45-year course of the investigation would be preserved for historical purposes at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and on the FBI website. All of the evidence is open to the public.[88][89] The crime remains the only documented unsolved case of air piracy in commercial aviation history.[90]
Physical evidence
During their forensic search of the aircraft, FBI agents found four major pieces of evidence, each with a direct physical link to Cooper: a black clip-on tie, a mother-of-pearl tie clip, a hair from Cooper's headrest, and eight filter-tipped Raleigh cigarette butts from the armrest ashtray.
Clip-on necktie
FBI agents found a black clip-on necktie in seat 18-E, where Cooper had been seated. Attached to the tie was a gold tie-clip with a circular mother-of-pearl setting in the center of the clip.[9]:124 The FBI determined the tie had been sold exclusively at JCPenney department stores, but had been discontinued in 1968.[91]
By late 2007, the FBI had built a partial DNA profile from samples found on Cooper's tie in 2001.[92] However, the FBI also acknowledged no evidence linked Cooper to the source of the DNA sample. FBI Special Agent Fred Gutt said, "The tie had two small DNA samples, and one large sample... it's difficult to draw firm conclusions from these samples."[93] The FBI also made public a file of previously unreleased evidence, including Cooper's airplane ticket,[94] composite sketches, fact sheets, and posted a request for information about Cooper's identification.[50][92][95]
In March 2009, a group of "citizen sleuths" using GPS, satellite imagery, and other technologies unavailable in 1971,[96] began reinvestigating components of the case. Known as the Cooper Research Team (CRT),[97] the group included paleontologist Tom Kaye from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, scientific illustrator Carol Abraczinskas, computer scientist Sean Christo, and metallurgist Alan Stone. Although the CRT obtained little new information about the buried ransom money or Cooper's landing zone, they found, analyzed, and identified hundreds of organic and metallic particles on Cooper's tie.
Using electron microscopy, the CRT identified Lycopodium spores, the source of which was likely pharmaceutical. The team also found minute particles of unalloyed titanium on the tie, along with particles of bismuth, antimony, cerium, strontium sulfide, aluminum, and titanium-antimony alloys.[97] The metal and rare-earth particles suggested Cooper may have worked for Boeing[98][99] or another aeronautical engineering company, at a chemical manufacturing plant, or at a metal fabrication and production facility.[100]
The material with the most significance, explained Kaye, was the unalloyed titanium. During the 1970s, the use of pure titanium was rare and would only be used in aircraft fabrication facilities, or at chemical companies combining titanium and aluminum to store extremely corrosive substances.[101] The cerium and strontium sulfide were used by Boeing's supersonic transport development project, and by Portland factories in which cathode-ray tubes were manufactured, such as Teledyne and Tektronix.[102] Cooper researcher Eric Ulis has speculated that the titanium-antimony alloys are linked to Rem-Cru Titanium Inc., a metals manufacturer and Boeing contractor.[103]
Hair samples
FBI agents found two hair samples in Cooper's seat: a single strand of limb hair on the seat, and a single strand of brown Caucasian head hair on the headrest.[104] The limb hair was destroyed after the FBI Crime Laboratory determined the sample lacked enough unique microscopic characteristics to be useful.[28]:233 However, the FBI Crime Laboratory determined the head hair was suitable for future comparison, and preserved the hair on a microscope slide.[28]:233 During their attempts to build Cooper's DNA profile in 2002, the FBI discovered the hair sample had been lost.[105]:62
Cigarette butts
In the armrest ashtray of seat 18-E, FBI agents found eight Raleigh filter-tipped cigarette butts. The butts were sent to the FBI Crime Laboratory,[77]:43 but investigators were unable to find fingerprints and returned the butts to the Las Vegas field office.[28]:228 In 1998, the FBI sought to extract DNA from the cigarette butts, but discovered the butts had been destroyed while in the custody of the Las Vegas field office.[106]
Recovered ransom money
Portion of Brian Ingram's 1980 discovery
On February 10, 1980, eight-year-old Brian Ingram was vacationing with his family on the Columbia River at a beachfront known as Tina (or Tena) Bar, about 9 miles (14km) downstream from Vancouver, Washington, and 20 miles (32km) southwest of Ariel. As he raked the sandy riverbank to build a campfire, he uncovered three packets of the ransom cash, totaling about $5,800.[107] The bills had disintegrated from lengthy exposure to the elements, but were still bundled in rubber bands.[108] FBI technicians confirmed the money was indeed a portion of the ransom: two packets of 100 twenty-dollar bills each, and a third packet of 90, all arranged in the same order as when given to Cooper.[109]:10–12[110]
The discovery caused new conjecture, and ultimately raised more questions than it answered. Initial statements by investigators and scientific consultants were founded on the assumption the bundled bills washed freely into the Columbia River from one of its many connecting tributaries. An Army Corps of Engineershydrologist noted the bills had disintegrated in a "rounded" fashion and were "matted together", indicating they "had been deposited by river action", as opposed to having been buried deliberately.[111] The finding supported the hypothesis Cooper had landed near the Washougal River, which merges with the Columbia upstream from the discovery site,[112] and not in or near Lake Merwin, the Lewis River, or any of its tributaries feeding the Columbia River downstream from Tina Bar.
The "free-floating" hypothesis neither explained the ten bills missing from one packet, nor explained how the three packets remained together after separating from the rest of the money. Physical evidence was incompatible with geological evidence; Himmelsbach wrote free-floating bundles would have washed up on the bank "within a couple of years" of the hijacking; otherwise, the rubber bands would have long since deteriorated.[109]:15 Geological evidence suggested the bills arrived at Tina Bar after 1974, when the Army Corps of Engineers performed a dredging operation on a nearby section of the river. Geologist Leonard Palmer of Portland State University found two distinct layers of sand and sediment between the clay deposited on the riverbank by the dredge and the sand layer in which the bills were buried, indicating the bills arrived long after dredging had been completed.[111][113]
In late 2020, analysis of diatoms found on the bills suggests the bundles found at Tina Bar were not submerged in the river or buried dry at the time of the hijacking in November 1971. Only diatoms that bloom during springtime were found, indicating the money had entered the water at least several months after the hijacking.[114][115]
In 1986, after protracted negotiations, the recovered bills were divided equally between Brian Ingram and Northwest Orient's insurer Royal Globe Insurance;[116] the FBI retained 14 examples as evidence.[78][117] Ingram sold fifteen of his bills at auction in 2008 for about $37,000 (equivalent to $52,000in 2023).[118]
The Columbia River ransom money remains the only confirmed physical evidence from the hijacking found outside the aircraft.[96]
Parachutes
During the hijacking, Cooper demanded and received two main parachutes and two reserve parachutes. The two reserve (front) parachutes were supplied by a local skydiving school and the two main (back) parachutes were supplied by a local pilot, Norman Hayden.[22]:124 Earl Cossey, the parachute rigger who packed all four parachutes brought to Cooper, described the two main parachutes as emergency bailout parachutes (as opposed to sporting parachutes used by skydivers).[119] Cossey further described the main parachutes as being like military parachutes because they were rigged to open immediately upon the ripcord being pulled and were incapable of being steered.[9]:95[9]:124 When the airplane landed in Reno, FBI agents discovered two parachutes Cooper left behind: one reserve (front) parachute and one main (back) parachute. The reserve parachute had been opened and three shroud lines had been cut out, but the main parachute left behind was still intact.[9]:129[9]:292 The unused main parachute was described by FBI agents as a Model NB6 (Navy Backpack 6) and is on display at the Washington State Historical Society Museum.[9]:130[120]
One of the two reserve (front) parachutes Cooper was given was an unusable training parachute intended to only be used for classroom demonstrations.[22]:124 According to Cossey, the reserve parachute's internal canopy was sewn together so skydiving students could get the feel of pulling a ripcord on a packed parachute without the canopy actually deploying.[9]:110 This non-functional reserve parachute was not found in the aircraft when it landed in Reno, causing FBI agents to speculate Cooper was not an experienced parachutist because someone with experience would have realized this reserve parachute was a "dummy parachute".[94][92] However, within days of the hijacking, the FBI revealed that neither of the parachute harnesses Cooper was given had the necessary D-rings required to attach reserve parachutes.[22][25]:31[121] Although Cooper lacked the ability to attach this "dummy" parachute to his main harness as a reserve parachute, it was not found in the airplane, so what he did with it is unknown.[122][22] Cossey speculated Cooper removed the sewn-together canopy and used the empty reserve container as an extra money bag.[9]:202 Tina Mucklow's testimony was in line with Cossey's speculation, stating she recalled Cooper attempting to pack money inside a parachute container.[9]:155
In November 1978, a deer hunter found a 727's instruction placard for lowering the aft airstair. The placard was found near a logging road about 13 miles (21km) east of Castle Rock, Washington, north of Lake Merwin, but within Flight 305's basic flight path.[123]
Theories, hypotheses and conjecture
During the 45-year span of its active investigation, the FBI periodically made public some of its working hypotheses and tentative conclusions, drawn from witness testimony and the scarce physical evidence.[124]
Sketches
During the first year of the investigation, the FBI used eyewitness testimony from the passengers and flight crew to develop sketches of Cooper. The first sketch, officially titled Composite A, was completed a few days after the hijacking and was released on November 28, 1971.[4]:296 According to witnesses, the Composite A sketch—jokingly known as "Bing Crosby"[125]—was not an accurate likeness of Cooper. The Composite A sketch, said witnesses, showed a young man with a narrow face, and did not resemble Cooper[4]:284 or capture his disinterested, "let's get this over with" look.[4]:284 Flight attendant Florence Schaffner repeatedly told the FBI the Composite A sketch was a very poor likeness of Cooper.[4]:264
After multiple eyewitnesses said Composite A was not an accurate rendering, FBI artists developed a second composite sketch. Completed in late 1972, the second Composite B sketch was intended to depict more accurately Cooper's age, skin tone, and face shape.[4]:215 Eyewitnesses to whom Composite B was shown said the sketch was more accurate, but the Composite B Cooper looked too "angry" or "nasty". One flight attendant said the Composite B sketch looked like a "hoodlum" and remembered Cooper as "more refined in appearance".[4]:233 Moreover, said witnesses, the Composite B sketch depicted a man older than Cooper, with a lighter complexion.[4]
Using the criticisms of Composite B, FBI artists made adjustments and improvements to the Composite B sketch. On January 2, 1973, the FBI finalized revised Composite B, their third sketch of Cooper. Of the new sketch, one flight attendant said revised Composite B was, "a very close resemblance" to the hijacker.[4]:212 Opined another flight attendant, "the hijacker would be easily recognized from this sketch."[4]:284
In April 1973, the FBI concluded the revised Composite B sketch was the best likeness of Cooper they could develop, and should be considered the definitive sketch of Cooper.[4]:210
Composite Sketch A – November 1971
Composite Sketch B – late 1972
Revised Composite Sketch B – winter 1972–1973
Suspect profiling
Flight attendants Schaffner and Mucklow, who spent the most time interacting with Cooper, were interviewed on the same night in separate cities and gave nearly identical descriptions: a man in his mid-40s, approximately 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall and 170 to 180 pounds (77 to 82kg), with olive-toned skin, brown eyes, short combed-back black hair, and no discernible accent.[4]:294University of Oregon student Bill Mitchell, who sat across from Cooper during the three-hour flight, gave the FBI several interviews and provided detailed descriptions of Cooper for what subsequently became Composite Sketch B.[4]:227
Mitchell's descriptions of Cooper were similar to those provided by the flight attendants, except Mitchell described Cooper as 5feet 9inches (1.75m) to 5feet 10inches (1.78m). Since Mitchell was 6feet 2inches (1.88m) tall, he described himself as "way bigger" than Cooper and referred to Cooper as "slight".[23]:176[126] Robert Gregory, one of the only other passengers besides Mitchell who provided the FBI with a full description of Cooper, also described Cooper as 5feet 9inches (1.75m) tall. Gregory stated he believed Cooper to be of Mexican-American or Native American descent.[23]:183
In May 1973, the FBI internally released an eight-page suspect profile of Cooper.[59]:282 The profile suggested Cooper was a military-trained parachutist and not a sports skydiver: in addition to his familiarity with the military parachutes with which he was provided, Cooper's age would have made him an outlier in the sport-skydiving community and would have increased the likelihood of being recognized by a club member.[59]:292 Multiple eyewitnesses noted Cooper's athletic build, so the FBI profile suggested Cooper probably exercised regularly despite his age.[59]:290
FBI profilers suspected Cooper was an Air Force veteran familiar with Seattle and the surrounding areas. Cooper recognized Tacoma as the jet circled Puget Sound, and in his conversation with Mucklow, Cooper correctly noted McChord AFB's proximity to Seattle-Tacoma Airport, a detail with which most civilians would be unfamiliar.[127]
Cooper's mannerisms—such as his vocabulary, planning, his thorough retrieval of evidence, and his use of aviation terminology—led the FBI to conclude Cooper was not a common criminal: Cooper was clearly intelligent, not impulsive or easily rattled, a careful and procedure-oriented planner, adept at anticipating contingencies and adaptive strategies, with meticulous and methodical tendencies.[59]:289–291 Profilers also noted Cooper's ability to quickly and competently adapt to various situations as they arose indicated he probably preferred to work independently, and neither needed nor wanted an accomplice.[59]:290
Cooper's financial situation was probably desperate. According to retired FBI chief investigator Ralph Himmelsbach, extortionists and other criminals who steal large amounts of money nearly always do so because they need it urgently; otherwise, the crime is not worth the considerable risk.[128] The FBI considered—but ultimately dismissed—the possibility Cooper was a "thrill seeker" who made the jump, "just to prove it could be done".[86]
Because Cooper spilled the only drink he was served and never requested another, the FBI theorized Cooper was neither a heavy drinker nor an alcoholic. Moreover, an alcoholic would likely have been incapable of refusing further alcoholic beverages throughout the stressful and lengthy hijacking.[59]:290 By calculating the number of cigarettes Cooper smoked throughout the hijacking, the FBI believed Cooper smoked about one pack of cigarettes a day.[59]:290
Agents theorized Cooper's alias was based on the adventure hero Dan Cooper, a fictional Royal Canadian Air Force test pilot and the main character of a popular French-language Belgian comic book series, one cover of which depicted Dan Cooper skydiving.[96] Because the Dan Cooper comics were neither translated to English nor imported to the United States, FBI profilers speculated the hijacker encountered them during a European tour of duty, and spoke fluent French.[96]
Knowledge and planning
Based on the evidence and Cooper's tactics, the FBI speculated Cooper planned the hijacking carefully using detailed, specific knowledge of aviation, the local terrain, and the 727's capabilities. Cooper chose a seat in the last row of the rear cabin for three reasons: to observe and respond to any action in front of him, to minimize the possibility of being approached or attacked by someone behind him, and to make himself less conspicuous to the rest of the passengers.[129] To ensure he would not be deliberately supplied with sabotaged equipment, Cooper demanded four parachutes to force the assumption he might compel one or more hostages to jump with him.[130] FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach noted Cooper's choice of a bomb—instead of other weapons previously used by hijackers—thwarted any multidirectional attempts to rush him.[131]
Cooper was careful to avoid leaving evidence. Before he jumped, Cooper demanded Mucklow return to him all notes either written by him, or on his behalf. Mucklow said she used the last match in his paper matchbook to light one of his cigarettes, and when she attempted to dispose of the empty matchbook, he demanded she return it to him.[9]:154 Although Cooper meticulously attempted to retrieve evidence, he left his clip-on tie in his seat.[9]:292
Cooper was clearly familiar with the 727's capabilities and confidential features, but the 727's design was the primary reason Cooper chose the aircraft. With its aft airstair and the placement of its three engines, the 727 was one of the only passenger jets from which a parachute jump could be easily made. Mucklow told the FBI Cooper appeared to be familiar with the 727's typical refueling time and procedures.[9]:154[132]
By specifying a 15° flap setting, Cooper displayed specific knowledge of aviation tactics and the 727's capabilities. Unlike most commercial jet airliners, the 727 could remain in slow, low-altitude flight without stalling. The flap setting Cooper specifically requested allowed him to control the 727's airspeed and altitude without entering the cockpit, where he could have been overpowered by the three pilots.[133] First Officer Bill Rataczak, who spoke with Cooper on the intercom during the hijacking, told the FBI, "[Cooper] displayed a specific knowledge of flying and aircraft in general."[9]:321
The most significant knowledge Cooper displayed was a feature both secret and unique to the 727: the aft airstair could be operated during flight, and the single activation switch in the rear of the cabin could not be overridden from the cockpit.[134] Cooper knew how to operate the aft staircase, and had clearly planned to use it for his escape. The FBI speculated Cooper knew the Central Intelligence Agency was using 727s to drop agents and supplies into enemy territory during the Vietnam War.[135] Since no situation on a passenger flight would necessitate such an operation, civilian crews were neither informed the aft airstair could be lowered midflight, nor were they aware its operation could not be overridden from the cockpit.[136]
Cooper appeared to be familiar with parachutes, although his experience level is unknown. Mucklow said Cooper, "appeared to be completely familiar with the parachutes which had been furnished to him",[9]:156 and told a journalist, "Cooper put on [his] parachute as though he did so every day".[137] Cooper's familiarity with the military-style parachutes he was given has resulted in speculation that Cooper was a military parachutist and not a civilian skydiver.[138]
Larry Carr, who directed the investigative team from 2006 to 2009, does not believe Cooper was a paratrooper.[139] Instead, Carr speculates Cooper had been an Air Force aircraft cargo loader. An aircraft cargo-loading assignment would provide him with aviation knowledge and experience: cargo loaders have basic jump training, wear emergency parachutes, and know how to dispatch items from planes in flight. As a cargo loader, Cooper would be familiar with parachutes, "but not necessarily sufficient knowledge to survive the jump he made".[140]
Cooper's fate
From the beginning of their investigation, FBI agents did not believe Cooper survived his jump. The FBI provided several reasons and facts to support their conclusion: Cooper's apparent lack of skydiving experience, his lack of proper equipment for his jump and survival, the temperature and inclement weather on the night of the hijacking, the wooded terrain into which Cooper jumped, his lack of knowledge of his landing area, and the unused ransom money.
First, Cooper appeared to lack the necessary skydiving knowledge, skills, and experience for the type of jump he attempted. Carr said: "We originally thought Cooper was an experienced jumper, perhaps even a paratrooper."[141] He further said: "We concluded after a few years this was simply not true. No experienced parachutist would have jumped in the pitch-black night, in the rain, with a 172mph[77m/s] wind in his face wearing loafers and a trench coat. It was simply too risky."[92] Alternatively, skydiving instructor Earl Cossey, who supplied the parachutes, testified Cooper would not have needed extensive experience to survive the jump and "anyone who had six or seven practice jumps could accomplish this".[9]:203 However, Cossey also noted jumping at night drastically increased the risk of injury, and without jump boots, Cooper would probably have suffered severe ankle or leg injuries upon landing.[9]:203
Second, Cooper did not appear to have the equipment necessary for either his jump or his survival in the wilderness. He failed to bring or request a helmet,[142][143] and jumped into a 15°F (−9°C) wind at 10,000feet (3,000m) in November over Washington without proper protection against the extreme wind chill.[144][140] Although the contents of Cooper's 4in ×12in ×14in (10cm ×30cm ×36cm)[9]:9 paper bag are unknown, he did not use any of the bag's contents to assist him during any part of the hijacking, so the FBI speculated the bag contained items he needed for his jump, such as boots, gloves, and goggles.[4]:270
Third, Cooper did not have an accomplice waiting on the ground to help him escape. Such an arrangement would have required both a precisely timed jump and the flight crew's cooperation to follow a predetermined flight path, but Cooper did not give the flight crew a specific path. Moreover, the flight crew proposed—and Cooper agreed—to alter the flight path, and fly from Seattle to Reno for refueling,[145] and Cooper had no way of keeping an accomplice apprised of his changed plans. The low cloud cover and lack of visibility to the ground further complicated Cooper's ability to determine his location, establish a bearing, or see his landing zone.[92]
Finally, the ransom money was never spent, and the recovered portion was found unused.[96] Carr said: "Diving into the wilderness without a plan, without the right equipment, in such terrible conditions, he probably never even got his chute open."[92] FBI agent Richard Tosaw theorized Cooper became incapacitated from hypothermia during his jump, landed in the Columbia River, and drowned.[c][146][116][147] However, FBI agents were not unanimous in their assessments of Cooper's ultimate fate. A senior FBI agent anonymously opined in a 1976 article in The Seattle Times, "I think [Cooper] made it. I think he slept in his own bed that night. It was a clear night. A lot of the country is pretty flat... he could have just walked out. Right down the road. Hell, they weren't even looking for him there at the time. They thought he was somewhere else. He could just walk down the road."[148][149]
Conclusive evidence of Cooper's death has not been found.[150] In the months after Cooper's hijacking, five men attempted copycat hijackings, and all five survived their parachute escapes.[151] The survival of the copycats—several of whom had circumstances and conditions similar to Cooper's jump—forced FBI lead case agent Ralph Himmelsbach to reevaluate his opinions and theories regarding Cooper's chances for survival. Himmelsbach cited three examples of hijackers who survived jumps in conditions similar to Cooper's escape: Martin McNally, Frederick Hahneman, and Richard LaPoint.[d]
Hijacker Martin McNally jumped using only a reserve chute, without protective gear, at night, over Indiana.[152] Unlike Cooper, who appeared to be familiar with parachutes, McNally had to be shown how to put on his parachute.[9]:156[153] Additionally, McNally's pilot increased the airspeed to 320 knots (590km/h), nearly twice the airspeed of Flight305 at the time of Cooper's jump. The increased windspeed caused a violent jump for McNally: the money bag was immediately torn from him, "yet he had landed unharmed except for some superficial scratches and bruises".[e]
49-year-old Frederick Hahneman hijacked a 727 in Pennsylvania and survived after jumping at night into a Honduran jungle.[151][154] A third copycat, Richard LaPoint, hijacked a 727 in Nevada. Wearing only trousers, a shirt, and cowboy boots, LaPoint jumped into the freezing January wind over northern Colorado and landed in the snow.[155] In 2008, Himmelsbach admitted he originally thought Cooper had only a fifty-percent chance of survival, but subsequently revised his assessment.[156][157]
By 1976, most published legal analyses concurred the impending expiration of the statute of limitations for prosecution of the hijacker would make little difference.[158] Since the statute's interpretation varies from case to case and from court to court, a prosecutor could argue Cooper had forfeited legal immunity on any of several valid technical grounds.[159] In November 1976, a Portland grand jury returned an indictment in absentia against "John Doe, a.k.a. Dan Cooper" for air piracy and violation of the Hobbs Act.[160] The indictment formally enabled prosecution to be continued, should the hijacker be apprehended at any time in the future.[160]
Suspects
Between 1971 and 2016, the FBI processed more than a thousand "serious suspects", including assorted publicity seekers and deathbed confessors.[48][142][161]
Theodore Burdette Braden Jr. (1928–2007) was a Special Forces commando during the Vietnam War, a master skydiver, and a convicted felon. He was believed by many within the Special Forces community, both at the time of the hijacking and during subsequent years, to have been Cooper.[162][163] Born in Ohio, Braden first joined the military at the age of 16 in 1944, serving with the 101st Airborne during World War II. He eventually became one of the military's best parachutists, often representing the Army in international skydiving tournaments,[164] and his military records list him as having made 911 jumps.[165] During the 1960s, Braden was a team leader within the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG), a classified commando unit of Green Berets which performed unconventional warfare operations during the Vietnam War.[166] He also served as a military skydiving instructor, teaching HALO jumping techniques to members of Project Delta.[167] Braden spent 23 months in Vietnam, conducting classified operations within both North and South Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia.[168] In December 1966, Braden deserted his unit in Vietnam and made his way to the Congo to serve as a mercenary,[169] but only served there a brief time before being arrested by CIA agents and taken back to the United States for a court-martial. Despite having committed a capital offense by deserting in wartime, Braden was given an honorable discharge and prohibited from re-enlisting in the military in exchange for his continued secrecy about the MACVSOG program.[170]
Braden was profiled in the October 1967 issue of Ramparts magazine, wherein he was described by fellow Special Forces veteran and journalist Don Duncan as being someone with a "secret death wish" who "continually places himself in unnecessary danger but always seems to get away with it", specifically referring to Braden's disregard for military skydiving safety regulations.[171] Duncan also claimed that during Braden's time in Vietnam, he was "continuously involved in shady deals to make money".[172] After his military discharge in 1967, the details of Braden's life are largely unknown, but at the time of the hijacking he was a truck driver for Consolidated Freightways, which was headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland and not far from the suspected dropzone of Ariel, Washington.[173] It is also known that during the early 1970s he was investigated by the FBI for stealing $250,000 during a trucking scam he had allegedly devised, but he was never charged for this supposed crime.[174] In 1980, Braden was indicted by a Federal grand jury for driving an 18-wheeler full of stolen goods from Arizona to Massachusetts, but it is unknown whether there was a conviction in that case.[175] Two years later Braden was arrested in Pennsylvania for driving a stolen vehicle with fictitious plates and for having no driver's license.[176] Braden was eventually sent to Federal prison during the late 1980s, serving time in Pennsylvania, but the precise crime is unknown.[177]
Despite his ability as a soldier, he was not well liked personally and was described by a family member as "the perfect combination of high intelligence and criminality".[178] From his time working covert operations in Vietnam, he likely would have possessed the then-classified knowledge about the ability and proper specifications for jumping from a 727, perhaps having done it himself on MACVSOG missions. Physically, Braden's military records list him at 5ft 8in (173cm), which is shorter than the height description of at least 5ft 10in (178cm) given by the two flight attendants, but this military measurement would have been taken in his stocking feet and he may have appeared somewhat taller in shoes. However, he possessed a dark complexion from years of outdoor military service, had short dark hair, a medium athletic build, and was 43 years of age at the time of the hijacking, which are features all in line with the descriptions of Cooper.[179]
Kenneth Christiansen
In 2003, Minnesota resident Lyle Christiansen watched a television documentary about the Cooper hijacking and became convinced that his late brother Kenneth (1926–1994) was Cooper.[67] After repeated futile attempts to convince the FBI as well as author and movie director Nora Ephron (whom he hoped would make a movie about the case), he contacted private investigator Skipp Porteous in New York City. In 2010, Porteous published a book postulating that Christiansen was the hijacker.[180] The next year, an episode of the History series Brad Meltzer's Decoded also summarized the circumstantial evidence linking Christiansen to the Cooper case.[181]
Christiansen enlisted in the Army in 1944 and was trained as a paratrooper. World War II had ended by the time he was deployed in 1945, but he made occasional training jumps while stationed in Japan with occupation forces during the late 1940s. After leaving the Army, he joined Northwest Orient in 1954 as a laborer stationed at Northwest Airlines' Far East stopover on Shemya Island in the Aleutians. He subsequently became a flight attendant, and then a purser, based in Seattle.[67] Christiansen was 45 years old at the time of the hijacking, but he was shorter (5ft 8 in or 173cm) and thinner (150 pounds or 68kg) than eyewitness descriptions of Cooper.[67] Christiansen smoked (as did the hijacker) and displayed a fondness for bourbon (the drink Cooper had requested).[182] Stewardess Florence Schaffner told author Geoffrey Gray that photos of Christiansen fit her memory of the hijacker's appearance more closely than those of the other suspects she had been shown, but added that she could not conclusively identify him.[67][183]
Despite the publicity generated by Porteous's book and the 2011 television documentary, the FBI maintains that Christiansen cannot be considered a prime suspect.[92][184] It cites the poor match to eyewitness physical descriptions and a complete absence of direct incriminating evidence.[185]
Jack Coffelt
Bryant "Jack" Coffelt (1917–1975) was a con man, ex-convict, and purported government informant who claimed to have been the chauffeur and confidant of Abraham Lincoln's last undisputed descendant, great-grandson Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith. In 1972, he began claiming he was Cooper and attempted through an intermediary – a former cellmate named James Brown – to sell his story to a Hollywood production company. He said he landed near Mount Hood, about 50 miles (80km) southeast of Ariel, injuring himself and losing the ransom money in the process. Photos of Coffelt bear a resemblance to the composite drawings, although he was in his mid-fifties in 1971. He was reportedly in Portland on the day of the hijacking and sustained leg injuries around that time which were consistent with a skydiving mishap.[186]
Coffelt's account was reviewed by the FBI, which concluded that it differed in several details from information that had not been made public and was therefore a fabrication.[187] Brown continued peddling the story long after Coffelt died in 1975. Multiple media venues, including the CBS news program 60 Minutes, considered and rejected it.[188]
Lynn Cooper
Lynn Doyle "L. D." Cooper (1931–1999), a leather worker and Korean War veteran, was proposed as a suspect in July 2011 by his niece, Marla Cooper.[189][190] As an eight-year-old, she recalled Cooper and another uncle planning something "very mischievous", involving the use of "expensive walkie-talkies", at her grandmother's house in Sisters, Oregon, 150 miles (240km) southeast of Portland.[191] The next day Flight 305 was hijacked; and though the uncles ostensibly were turkey hunting, L. D. Cooper came home wearing a bloody shirt—the result, he said, of an auto accident.[184] Later, Marla claimed, her parents came to believe that L. D. was the hijacker. She also recalled that her uncle, who died in 1999, was obsessed with the Canadian comic book hero Dan Cooper and "had one of his comic books thumbtacked to his wall"—although he was not a skydiver or paratrooper.[192]
In August 2011, New York magazine published an alternative witness sketch, reportedly based on a description by Flight 305 eyewitness Robert Gregory, depicting horn-rimmed sunglasses, a "russet"-colored suit jacket with wide lapels, and marcelled hair. The article observed that L. D. Cooper had wavy hair that looked marcelled (as did Duane Weber, see below).[193] The FBI announced that no fingerprints had been found on a guitar strap made by L. D. Cooper.[194] One week later, they added that his DNA did not match the partial DNA profile obtained from the hijacker's tie, but acknowledged that there is no certainty that the hijacker was the source of the organic material obtained from the tie.[93]
Barbara Dayton
Barbara Dayton (1926–2002), a recreational pilot and University of Washington librarian who was named Robert Dayton at birth, served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and then the Army during World War II.[195] After discharge, Dayton worked with explosives for construction work and aspired to a professional airline career, but could not obtain a commercial pilot's license.[196]
Dayton had gender reassignment surgery in 1969, and changed her name to Barbara; she is believed to be the first person to have had this type of surgery in Washington.[197] She claimed to have staged the hijacking two years later, presenting as a man, in order to "get back" at the airline industry and the FAA, whose insurmountable rules and conditions had prevented her from becoming an airline pilot.[198] Dayton said that the ransom money was hidden in a cistern near Woodburn, Oregon, a suburban area south of Portland. She eventually recanted the entire story, ostensibly after learning that hijacking charges could still be brought. She also did not match the physical description particularly closely.[199]
William Gossett
William Pratt Gossett (1930–2003) was a Marine Corps, Army, and Army Air Forces veteran who had military service in Korea and Vietnam. His military experience included jump training and wilderness survival. Gossett was known to be obsessed with the Cooper hijacking. According to Galen Cook, a lawyer who has collected information related to Gossett for years, he once showed his sons a key to a Vancouver, British Columbia, safe deposit box which, he claimed, contained the long-missing ransom money.[200]
The FBI has no direct evidence implicating Gossett and cannot even reliably place him in the Pacific Northwest at the time of the hijacking.[201] "There is not one link to the D. B. Cooper case," said Special Agent Carr, "other than the statements [Gossett] made to someone."[202]
Joe Lakich
Joe Lakich (1921–2017) was a retired U.S. Army Major and Korean War veteran whose daughter Susan Giffe was killed less than two months before the hijacking, as a consequence of a botched hostage negotiation conducted by the FBI.[203] The events culminating in the death of Lakich's daughter would be studied by hostage negotiators for decades as an example of what not to do during a hostage situation.[204] He and his wife later sued the FBI, and ultimately an Appeals Court ruled in their favor, holding that the FBI acted negligently during the hostage negotiation.[204]
Lakich would become a Cooper suspect in large part due to the revelation that Cooper's tie contained microscopic particles of uncommon metals, such as unalloyed titanium.[205] It is speculated that few people during that era would have contact with such materials, and that Cooper may have worked in a manufacturing environment working on electronics as engineer or manager. When the hijacking occurred, Lakich was working in Nashville as a production supervisor at an electronics capacitor factory and would have likely been exposed to the materials found on the tie.[206] When Cooper was asked by Tina Mucklow why he was committing the hijacking, he replied: "It's not because I have a grudge against your airlines, it's just because I have a grudge."[9]:161 It is believed by some that this "grudge" was Lakich's anger toward the FBI for their failed efforts at rescuing his daughter less than two months earlier.[207]
John Emil List (1925–2008) was an accountant and war veteran who murdered his wife, three teenage children, and 85-year-old mother in Westfield, New Jersey, fifteen days before the Cooper hijacking, withdrew $200,000 from his mother's bank account, and disappeared.[208] He came to the attention of the Cooper task force due to the timing of his disappearance, multiple matches to the hijacker's description, and the reasoning that "a fugitive accused of mass murder has nothing to lose".[78] After his capture in 1989, List denied any involvement in the Cooper hijacking: no substantial evidence implicates him, and the FBI no longer considers him a suspect.[209] List died in prison in 2008.[210]
Ted Mayfield
Theodore Ernest Mayfield (1935–2015) was a Special Forces veteran, pilot, competitive skydiver, and skydiving instructor. He served prison time in 1994 for negligent homicide after two of his students died when their parachutes failed to open[211] and was later found indirectly responsible for thirteen additional skydiving deaths due to faulty equipment and training. In 2010, he was sentenced to three years' probation for piloting an airplane 26 years after losing his pilot's license and rigging certificates.[212] He was suggested repeatedly as a suspect early in the investigation, according to FBI Agent Ralph Himmelsbach, who knew Mayfield from a prior dispute at a local airport. He was ruled out, based partly on the fact that he telephoned Himmelsbach less than two hours after Flight 305 landed in Reno to volunteer advice on standard skydiving practices and possible landing zones, as well as information on local skydivers.[213]
Richard McCoy, Jr. (1942–1974) was an Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, first as a demolition expert and later with the Green Berets as a helicopter pilot.[214] After his military service, he became a warrant officer in the Utah National Guard and an avid recreational skydiver, with aspirations of becoming a Utah State Trooper.[215][216]
On April 7, 1972, McCoy staged the best-known of the copycat hijackings.[217] He boarded United Airlines' Flight 855 (a Boeing 727 with aft stairs) in Denver, Colorado, and, brandishing what later proved to be a paperweight resembling a hand grenade and an unloaded pistol, he demanded four parachutes and $500,000.[78] After delivery of the money and parachutes at San Francisco International Airport, McCoy ordered the aircraft back into the sky and bailed out over Provo, Utah, leaving behind his handwritten hijacking instructions and his fingerprints on a magazine he had been reading.[218]
He was arrested on April 9 with the ransom cash in his possession and, after trial and conviction, received a 45-year sentence.[215][219] Two years later, he escaped from Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary with several accomplices by crashing a garbage truck through the main gate.[220] Tracked down three months later in Virginia Beach, McCoy was killed in a shootout with FBI agents.[217][221]
In their 1991 book, D.B. Cooper: The Real McCoy, parole officer Bernie Rhodes and former FBI agent Russell Calame asserted that they had identified McCoy as Cooper.[222] They cited obvious similarities in the two hijackings, claims by McCoy's family that the tie and mother-of-pearl tie clip left on the airplane belonged to McCoy, and McCoy's own refusal to admit or deny that he was Cooper.[217][223] A proponent of their claim was the FBI agent who killed McCoy. "When I shot Richard McCoy," he said, "I shot D. B. Cooper at the same time."[217]
Although there is no reasonable doubt that McCoy committed the Denver hijacking, the FBI does not consider him a suspect in the Cooper case because of mismatches in age and description (e.g., McCoy was 29 years old, with projecting ears),[224][105]:192[225] skydiving skill much greater than thought to be possessed by the hijacker,[92] and credible evidence that McCoy was in Las Vegas on the day of the Portland hijacking,[78] and at home in Utah the day after, having Thanksgiving dinner with his family.[184][226]
In addition, all three of the stewardesses from the Cooper hijacking were shown photographs of McCoy and agreed that he was not their hijacker. They were even able to point to specific differences in the two men, specifically that Cooper's nose wasn't as broad as McCoy's, that Cooper had more hair than McCoy, and that Cooper's ears did not protrude as much as McCoy's.[227]:306 McCoy's photo was also shown to the ticket agent who sold Cooper his ticket, the gate agent, and the passenger seated closest to Cooper (Bill Mitchell), and they too concluded that McCoy and Cooper were not the same.[227]:317
In 2024, McCoy's two children publicly stated that their father had been D. B. Cooper after a parachute was found by YouTuber Dan Gryder on the property formerly owned by McCoy's mother.[228] Gryder claims to have handed this parachute over to the FBI, though the FBI have not confirmed this.[229]
Vincent Petersen
On November 11, 2022, independent researcher Eric Ulis had a press conference identifying Vincent C. Petersen (d. 2002) as being a person of interest.[230] While researching the spectrum analysis that was done on Cooper's tie, Ulis discovered three particles that appeared to be a very rare titanium-antimony alloy.[103] Petersen worked for a company named Rem-Cru Titanium, based in Midland, Pennsylvania, that manufactured titanium-antimony alloys.[103] Rem-Cru employees spent large amounts of time working at Boeing facilities and this would have allowed Petersen to become familiar with the Pacific Northwest. A former coworker said that Petersen matched D.B. Cooper's description, but Petersen's son said that it would have been completely out of character for his father to commit a robbery.[230]
Sheridan Peterson
The 1971 sketch of Cooper's description, and photo of Peterson from around the same time
Sheridan Peterson (1926–2021) served with the Marine Corps during World War II and was employed later as a technical editor at Boeing, based in Seattle. Investigators became interested in Peterson as a suspect soon after the skyjacking because of his experience as a smokejumper and love of taking physical risks, as well as his similar appearance and age (44) to the Cooper description. His involvement in the civil rights movement and assisting refugees in Vietnam during the Vietnam War could have potentially radicalized him to pursue hijacking.[231]
Peterson often teased the media about whether he was really Cooper. Entrepreneur Eric Ulis, who spent years investigating the crime, said he was "98% convinced" that Peterson was Cooper; when pressed by FBI agents, Peterson insisted he was in Nepal at the time of the hijacking. He died in 2021.[231]
In an episode of History Channel's History's Greatest Mysteries, analysis of DNA found on the tie worn by Cooper indicated that Peterson was not a match for Cooper when compared to a DNA sample from one of Peterson's living daughters. Eric Ulis has since withdrawn his allegation that Peterson could have been Cooper.
Robert Rackstraw
FBI sketch of D. B. Cooper from 1972 compared to 1970 Army ID picture of Robert Rackstraw
Robert Wesley Rackstraw (1943–2019) was a retired pilot and ex-convict who served on an Army helicopter crew and other units during the Vietnam War. He came to the attention of the Cooper task force in February 1978, after he was arrested in Iran and deported to the U.S. to face explosives possession and check kiting charges. Several months later, while released on bail, Rackstraw attempted to fake his own death by radioing a false mayday call and telling controllers that he was bailing out of a rented airplane over Monterey Bay.[232] Police later arrested him in Fullerton, California, on an additional charge of forging federal pilot certificates; the airplane he claimed to have ditched was found, repainted, in a nearby hangar.[233][234] Cooper investigators noted his physical resemblance to Cooper composite sketches even though he was only 28 in 1971,[235] military parachute training, and criminal record but eliminated him as a suspect in 1979 after no direct evidence of his involvement could be found.[236][237]
In 2016, Rackstraw was featured as a suspect by a History channel program,[238] along with a book.[239] On September 8, 2016, Thomas J. Colbert, the author of the book, and attorney Mark Zaid filed a lawsuit to compel the FBI to release its Cooper case file by the Freedom of Information Act.[240] In 2017, Colbert and a group of volunteer investigators uncovered what they believed to be "a decades-old parachute strap" at an undisclosed location in the Pacific Northwest.[241] This was followed later in 2017 with a piece of foam, which they suspected was part of Cooper's parachute backpack.[242] In January 2018, Tom and Dawna Colbert reported that they had obtained a confession letter originally written in December 1971 containing codes that matched three units Rackstraw was a part of while in the Army.[243][244][245]
One of the Flight 305 flight attendants reportedly "did not find any similarities" between photos of Rackstraw from the 1970s and her recollection of Cooper's appearance.[235] Rackstraw's attorney termed the renewed allegations "the stupidest thing I've ever heard",[246] and Rackstraw himself told People magazine, "It's a lot of [expletive], and they know it is".[235] The FBI declined further comment.[240] Rackstraw stated in a 2017 phone interview that he lost his job over the 2016 investigations.[247] Rackstraw said to Colbert, "I told everybody I was [the hijacker]", before explaining the admission was a stunt. He died in 2019.[248]
Walter Reca
Walter R. Reca (1933–2014) was a former military paratrooper and intelligence operative.[249] He was proposed as a suspect by his friend Carl Laurin in 2018.[250] In 2008, Reca told Laurin via a recorded telephone call that he was the hijacker.[251] Reca gave Laurin permission in a notarized letter to share his story after his death. He also allowed Laurin to tape their telephone conversations about the crime during a six-week period in late 2008. In over threehours of recordings, Reca shared details about his version of the hijacking. He also confessed to his niece, Lisa Story.[252]
From Reca's description of the terrain on his way to the drop zone, Laurin concluded that he landed near CleElum, Washington. After Reca described an encounter with a dump truck driver at a roadside cafe after he landed, Laurin located Jeff Osiadacz, who was driving his dump truck near CleElum the night of the hijacking and met a stranger at the Teanaway Junction Café just outside of town. The man asked Osiadacz to give his friend directions to the café by telephone, presumably to be picked up, and he complied.[253] Laurin convinced Joe Koenig, a former member of the Michigan State Police, of Reca's guilt.[254] Koenig later published a book on Cooper, titled Getting The Truth: I Am D.B. Cooper.[255]
These claims have aroused skepticism. CleElum is well north and east of Flight 305's known flight path, more than 150 miles (240km) north of the drop zone assumed by most analysts, and even further from Tina Bar, where a portion of the ransom money was found. Reca was a military paratrooper and private skydiver with hundreds of jumps to his credit, in contradiction to the FBI's publicized profile of an amateur skydiver at best. Reca also did not resemble the composite portrait the FBI assembled, which Laurin and Osiadacz used to explain why Osiadacz's suspicions were not aroused at the time.[253] In response to the allegations against Reca, the FBI said that it would be inappropriate to comment on specific tips provided to them, and that no evidence to date had proved the culpability of any suspect beyond a reasonable doubt.[256]
William Smith
William J. Smith in 1985
In November 2018, The Oregonian published an article proposing William J. Smith (1928–2018), of Bloomfield, New Jersey,[257] as a suspect. The article was based on research conducted by an Army data analyst who sent his findings to the FBI in mid-2018.[258] Smith, a New Jersey native, was a World War II veteran. After high school, he enlisted with the United States Navy and volunteered for combat air crew training. After his discharge, he worked for the Lehigh Valley Railroad and was affected by the Penn Central Transportation Company's bankruptcy in 1970, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at that time. The article proposed that the loss of his pension created a grudge against the corporate establishment and transportation field, as well as a sudden need for money. Smith was 43 at the time of the hijacking. In his high school yearbook, a list of alumni killed in World War II lists an Ira Daniel Cooper, possibly the source for the hijacker's pseudonym.[258] The analyst claimed that Smith's naval aviation experience would have given him knowledge of airplanes and parachutes, and his railroad experience would have helped him find railroad tracks and hop on a train to escape the area after landing.[259]
According to the analyst, aluminum spiral chips found on the clip-on tie could have come from a locomotive maintenance facility. Smith's information about the Seattle area may have come from his close friend Dan Clair, who was stationed at Fort Lewis during the war. The analyst noted that the man who claimed to be Cooper in Max Gunther's 1985 book identified himself as "Dan LeClair".[258] Smith and Clair worked together for Conrail at Newark's Oak Island Yard. Smith retired from that facility as a yardmaster. The article noted that a picture of Smith on the Lehigh Valley Railroad website showed a "remarkable resemblance" to Cooper FBI sketches.[260] The FBI said that it would be inappropriate to comment on tips related to Smith.[258]
Duane Weber
Duane L. Weber (1924–1995) was a World War II Army veteran who served time in at least six prisons from 1945 to 1968 for burglary and forgery. He was proposed as a suspect by his widow, Jo, based primarily on a deathbed confession: three days before he died in 1995, Weber told his wife, "I am Dan Cooper." The name meant nothing to her, she said; but months later, a friend told her of its significance in the hijacking. She went to her local library to research Cooper, found Max Gunther's book, and discovered notations in the margins in her husband's handwriting.[48] Like the hijacker, Weber drank bourbon and chain-smoked. Other circumstantial evidence included a 1979 trip to Seattle and the Columbia River, where his wife remembered him throwing a trash bag just upstream of Tina Bar.[48]
Himmelsbach said, "[Weber] does fit the physical description (and) does have the criminal background that I have always felt was associated with the case", but did not believe Weber was Cooper.[261] The FBI eliminated Weber as an active suspect in July 1998 when his fingerprints did not match any of those processed in the hijacked plane,[262] and no other direct evidence could be found to implicate him.[48] Later, his DNA also failed to match the samples recovered from Cooper's tie.[92][184]
Cooper was among the first to attempt air piracy for personal gain; eleven days before Cooper's hijack, Canadian Paul Joseph Cini had hijacked an Air CanadaDC-8 over Montana, but was overpowered by the crew when he put down his shotgun to strap on his parachute.[263] Encouraged by Cooper's apparent success, fifteen similar hijackings—all unsuccessful—were attempted in 1972.[264] Some examples from that year:
Richard Charles LaPoint, an Army veteran from Boston,[265] boarded Hughes AirwestFlight 800 at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on January 20. Brandishing what he claimed was a bomb while the DC-9 was on the taxiway, he demanded $50,000, two parachutes, and a helmet.[266] After releasing the 51 passengers and two flight attendants, he ordered the airplane on an eastward trajectory toward Denver,[267] then bailed out over the treeless plains of northeastern Colorado. Authorities, tracking the locator-equipped parachute and his footprints in the snow and mud, apprehended him a few hours later.[268][269][270]
Richard McCoy Jr., a former Army Green Beret, hijacked a United Airlines 727-100 on April 7 after it left Denver, diverted it to San Francisco, then bailed out over Utah with $500,000 in ransom money.[214] He landed safely and was arrested two days later.[217][78]
Frederick Hahneman used a handgun to hijack an Eastern Air Lines 727 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on May 7, demanded $303,000, and eventually parachuted into his native Honduras. A month later, with the FBI in pursuit and a $25,000 bounty on his head, he surrendered at the American embassy in Tegucigalpa.[271][272] After being given a life sentence in September 1972, he was paroled in 1984.[273][274]
Robb Heady, a 22-year-old former Army paratrooper hijacked United Airlines Flight 239 from Reno to San Francisco on June 2, 1972. Carrying his own parachute and using a .357 (9.07mm) revolver, he demanded $200,000 in ransom money. He jumped from the airplane and was captured the next morning.[275]
Martin McNally, an unemployed service-station attendant, used a submachine gun on June 23 to commandeer an American Airlines 727 en route from St. Louis, Missouri, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, then diverted it eastward to Indiana and bailed out with $500,000 in ransom.[276] McNally lost the ransom money as he exited the aircraft, but landed safely near Peru, Indiana, and was apprehended a few days later in a Detroit suburb.[277] When interviewed in a 2020 podcast retrospective, McNally said he had been inspired by Cooper.[278]
With the advent of universal luggage searches in 1973 (see Airport security), the general incidence of hijackings dropped dramatically.[279] There were no further notable Cooper imitators until July 11, 1980, when Glenn K. Tripp seized Northwest Orient Flight 608 at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, demanding $600,000 ($100,000 by an independent account),[unreliable source?][280] two parachutes, and the assassination of his boss. A quick-thinking flight attendant drugged Tripp's alcoholic drink with Valium. After a ten-hour standoff, during which Tripp reduced his demands to three cheeseburgers and a ground vehicle in which to escape, he was apprehended.[unreliable source?][280] Tripp attempted to hijack the same Northwest flight on January 21, 1983, and this time demanded to be flown to Afghanistan. When the airplane landed in Portland, he was shot and killed by FBI agents.[281]
Aftermath
Airport security
Despite the initiation of the federal Sky Marshal Program the previous year,[279] 31 hijackings were committed in U.S. airspace in 1972; 19 of them were for the specific purpose of extorting money.[264] In 15 of the extortion cases, the hijackers also demanded parachutes.[264] In early 1973, the FAA began requiring airlines to search all passengers and their bags. Amid multiple lawsuits charging that such searches violated Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure, federal courts ruled that they were acceptable when applied universally and when limited to searches for weapons and explosives.[279] Only two hijackings were attempted in 1973, both by psychiatric patients; one hijacker, Samuel Byck, intended to crash the airliner into the White House to kill President Nixon.[282]
Aircraft modifications
A Cooper vane in the unlocked position
Due to multiple "copycat" hijackings in 1972, the FAA required that the exterior of all Boeing 727 aircraft be fitted with a spring-loaded device, later dubbed the "Cooper vane", that prevents lowering of the aft airstair during flight.[283] The device consists of a flat blade of aluminum mounted on a pivot, which is spring-loaded to stay out of the way of the door when the craft is at rest, but aerodynamically rotates into position to prevent the door from being opened when the airplane is traveling at flight speeds. Operation of the vane is automatic and cannot be overridden from within the aircraft.[279][284] As a direct result of the hijacking, the installation of peepholes was mandated in all cockpit doors; this enables the cockpit crew to observe passengers without opening the cockpit door.[134]
Subsequent history of N467US
N467US, the 727 involved in the 1971 hijacking, in service with Piedmont Airlines in 1979N467US, the 727 involved in the 1971 hijacking, as Key Air N29KA, being dismantled in Mississippi 1996
In 1978, the hijacked 727-100 aircraft was sold by Northwest Orient to Piedmont Airlines, where it was re-registered N838N and continued in domestic carrier service.[285] In 1984, it was purchased by the charter company Key Airlines, re-registered N29KA, and incorporated into the Air Force's civilian charter fleet that shuttled workers between Nellis Air Force Base and the Tonopah Test Range during the F-117 Nighthawk development program.[286] In 1996, the aircraft was scrapped for parts in a Memphisaircraft boneyard.[78]
Death of Earl J. Cossey
On April 23, 2013, Earl J. Cossey, who packed the four parachutes that were given to Cooper, was found dead in his home in Woodinville, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. His death was ruled a homicide due to blunt-force trauma to the head. The perpetrator remains unknown.[287] Some commenters alleged possible association with the Cooper case,[288] but authorities responded that they had no reason to believe that any such association exists.[289] Woodinville officials announced later that burglary was most likely the motive for the crime.[290]
Himmelsbach famously termed Cooper a "rotten sleazy crook",[291] but his bold and unusual crime inspired a cult following that was expressed in song, movies, and literature. Novelty shops sold t-shirts emblazoned with "D. B. Cooper, Where Are You?"[80] Restaurants and bowling alleys in the Pacific Northwest hold regular Cooper-themed promotions and sell tourist souvenirs. A "Cooper Day" celebration has been held at the Ariel General Store and Tavern each November since 1974 with the exception of 2015, the year its owner, Dona Elliot, died.[292]
An annual convention, known as CooperCon, is held every year in late November in Seattle, Washington.[294] The event, founded by Cooper researcher Eric Ulis in 2018, is a multi-day gathering of Cooper researchers and enthusiasts. Originally held in Vancouver, Washington,[295] it was relocated to Seattle beginning in 2023.[296] CooperCon replaced the annual D. B. Cooper Days, which ended when the owner of the Ariel Store Pub died and the pub was forced to close.[297]
↑ Himmelsbach & Worcester 1986, pp.40–41. When Schaffner's description was relayed to the FBI command post in Portland, agents stated that dynamite sticks are typically brown or beige in color; the eight red cylinders were probably highway or railroad flares. But because they could not be certain, intervention could not be recommended.
1 2 Earl Cossey, the skydiving instructor who supplied the parachutes, told some sources three of the four parachutes (one primary and both reserves) were returned to him. The FBI maintained only two parachutes, a primary and a cannibalized reserve, were found aboard the airplane. Gunther 1985, p.50.
↑ Retired FBI agent Richard Tosaw made a second career of searching for Cooper, telling his story in a book, D.B.Cooper, Dead or Alive? Tosaw came to the conclusion that Cooper landed in the Columbia River and that his body long ago decomposed. That theory is supported by Soderlind. Tosaw believes Cooper went down in the Columbia "like a greased anvil". As for the recovered money, he theorizes that those three packets had been in Cooper's pocket: That he had taken them from the bag before jumping because he had offered the flight attendants a 'tip', holding out some $20bills. His offer was refused."
↑ Himmelsbach & Worcester 1986, p.79: "The similarities to the Cooper case were striking, and immediately raised doubts about the basic premise I had held from early in the investigation: Cooper most likely died in the jump."
↑ Himmelsbach & Worcester 1986, p.79: "Like Cooper, he had not asked for a jump suit or any other protective gear, yet had landed unharmed except for some superficial scratches and bruises."
Related Research Articles
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1969.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1972.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1971.
A Cooper vane is a mechanical aerodynamic wedge that prevents the ventral airstair of an aircraft from being lowered in flight.
An airstair is a set of steps built into an aircraft so that passengers may board and alight the aircraft. The stairs are often built into a clamshell-style door on the aircraft. Airstairs eliminate the need for passengers to use a mobile stairway or jetway to board or exit the aircraft, providing more independence from ground services. Some of the earliest aircraft to feature airstairs were the Martin 2-0-2 and Martin 4-0-4. Some models of the Douglas DC-3 were also retrofitted with airstairs. As airport infrastructure has developed, the need for airstairs has decreased, as jetways or mobile stairways are often available.
The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper is a 1981 American crime thriller film about infamous aircraft hijacker D. B. Cooper, who escaped with $200,000 after leaping from the back of a Boeing 727 airliner on November 24, 1971. The bulk of the film fictionalizes Cooper's escape after he landed on the ground.
Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. was an American aircraft hijacker. McCoy hijacked a United Airlines passenger jet for ransom in April 1972. 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. B. Cooper".
D. B. Cooper is a media epithet used to describe an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 on November 24, 1971, extorted a US$200,000 ransom, and parachuted to an unknown fate. He was never seen again, and only $5,880 of the ransom money has been found. The incident continues to influence popular culture, and has inspired references in books, film, and music.
The hijacking of Southern Airways Flight 49 started on November 10, 1972, in Birmingham, Alabama, stretching over 30 hours, three countries, and 4,000 miles (6,400 km), not ending until the next evening in Havana, Cuba. Three men, Melvin Cale, Louis Moore, and Henry D. Jackson Jr., successfully hijacked a Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 that was scheduled to fly from Memphis, Tennessee, to Miami, Florida, via Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, and Orlando, Florida. The three were each facing criminal charges for unrelated incidents. Thirty-five people, including thirty-one passengers and four crew members, were aboard the airplane when it was hijacked. The hijackers' threat to crash the aircraft into a nuclear reactor led directly to the requirement that U.S. airline passengers be physically screened, beginning January 5, 1973.
Crime rates in the state of Washington grew rapidly to large levels from 1960 to 1980, however slowed in growth from 1980 onward. Although the cause of this drop in crime growth from the 1980s cannot be directly determined, it was believed to have been a result from several law enforcement initiatives & policies implemented throughout the state of Washington and across the United States, such as abortion access.
United Airlines Flight 696 was a flight from San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, to Seattle, Washington, with 75 people in board on March 13, 1978, which was hijacked by a man claiming to have a bomb. The incident resulted in no serious injuries and the arrest of the hijacker, Clay Thomas.
George Edward Wright is a Portuguese citizen of American origin, known for taking part in the hijacking of Delta Air Lines Flight 841. Originally arrested and convicted for murder in 1962 and sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, George Wright escaped from prison in 1970 and hijacked a Delta Air Lines flight in 1972 with a number of accomplices.
Dan Cooper is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a fictional Canadian military flying ace and astronaut.
Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 was a Boeing 737-200 flight between the California cities of Sacramento and Burbank, with a stop in San Francisco, that was hijacked by two Bulgarian nationals on July 5, 1972, shortly after take-off from Sacramento Airport. The hijackers demanded $800,000, two parachutes and to be taken to the Soviet Union. The plane landed at the San Francisco Airport, then took off after 20 minutes and spent the next hour circling while the hijackers waited for the airline to accept their demands.
Frederick William Hahneman was a Honduras-born U.S. citizen convicted of hijacking Eastern Air Lines Flight 175 on May 5, 1972. The flight—scheduled from Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Miami, Florida, with a stop in Washington, D.C.—was hijacked by Hahneman. The hijacked plane landed twice in Washington, D.C., then once in New Orleans, where a change of planes was made due to a mechanical issue. The new plane was then flown into Honduran airspace, as demanded by Hahneman.
The Last Master Outlaw: How He Outfoxed the FBI Six Times—but Not a Cold Case Team is a 2016 non-fiction book written by Thomas J. Colbert and Tom Szollosi. It details the results of a five-year investigation of a suspect in the 1971 D. B. Cooper hijacking case. The book documents the life of Robert Rackstraw and the evidence compiled against him. It was also the basis of the 2016 History Channel documentary D.B. Cooper: Case Closed.
The apparent success and instant notoriety of the hijacker known as D. B. Cooper in November 1971 resulted in over a dozen copycat hijackings within the next year all using a similar template to that established by Cooper. Like Cooper, the plan would be to hijack an aircraft, demand a ransom, and then parachute from that aircraft as a method of escape. To combat this wave of extortion hijackings, aircraft were fitted with eponymous "Cooper Vanes", specifically designed to prevent the aft staircase from being lowered in-flight. The Cooper Vane, as well as the widespread implementation of other safety measures such as the installation of metal detectors throughout American airports, would spell the end of the Cooper copycats.
Paul Joseph Cini is a Canadian plane hijacker who is noted as the first person to plan a skyjacking with a planned escape by use of a parachute. In November 1971 Cini boarded Air Canada Flight 812, and—posing as an international terrorist—proceeded to hijack the plane. During the next eight hours, the plane made several mid-air diversions from its original flight plan that included a stop in the United States in order to pick up ransom money. Cini, who often became agitated during the event, was kept calm by a flight attendant, Mary Dohey, who had a psychological background before working for the airline. The hijacker was overpowered by Dohey and two additional members of the flight crew when he attempted to bail from the plane over the Alberta, Canada, wilderness.
D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! is a four-part documentary mini-series released by Netflix in 2022. The series discusses the history and investigation of the Northwest Orient Airlines hijacking by the man known as D. B. Cooper in 1971 and includes interviews with investigators and journalists involved with investigating the case.
↑ Steven, Richard (November 24, 1996). "When D.B. Cooper Dropped From Sky: Where did the daring, He jumped off the plane. mysterious skyjacker go? Twenty-five years later, the search is still on for even a trace". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p.A20.
↑ "Unmasking D.B. Cooper". New York Magazine. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
1 2 FBI Interview with Florence Schaffner, Nov 24, 1971 (Report). November 24, 1971.
↑ Cord Zum Spreckel FBI Interview (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. November 26, 1971. p.451. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022. the blonde stewardess, who had been sitting next to the hijacker, got up and went forward and out of the forward exit of the plane. He said she returned through the same door after several minutes carrying a package which was made of off-white canvas.
↑ FBI Interview with Alice Hancock, Nov 24, 1971 (Report). November 24, 1971. then Mrs. Hancock went to the back of the plane and approached the hijacker and asked if the stewardesses could go and he said 'whatever you girls would like.'
↑ Contemporary stories from the AP and the UPI using the name "D. B. Cooper": * Grossweiler, Ed (November 26, 1971). "Hijacker bails out with loot". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p.1. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2018. * "Wilderness area combed for parachute skyjacker". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 26, 1971. p.1. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
↑ Taylor, Michael (November 24, 1996). "D.B. Cooper legend still up in air 25years after leap, hijackers prompts strong feelings". San Francisco Chronicle.
↑ Seattle SAC Letter to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. January 14, 1972. p.19. The reaction was instantaneous and was described by REDACTED as being the same reaction that they had in the airplane when they believe that the hijacker jumped.
↑ "Hijack Probe Expands". Associated Press. Spokane Chronicle. February 14, 1980. ... in the area near LaCenter, into which Cooper apparently parachuted.
↑ Letter to Director of FBI (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. February 24, 1972. p.355. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
↑ FBI Evidence Review (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. December 9, 1971. p.196. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022. The DNA Unit was contacted and agreed to perform an unknown subject analysis on the numerous cigarette butts left by COOPER on the aircraft that day. They believed it likely that DNA could be recovered. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this evidence had been destroyed years earlier in Las Vegas.
↑ Hawkins, Robert (October 3, 1976). "D.B. Cooper, is he at the bottom of Lake Merwin or walking the streets?". The Seattle Times. They were just emergency backpacks. Really, they're just used for aerobatic pilots or glider pilots or someone who would use a single parachute for a lifesaving event only. It wouldn't be like a sport parachute.
↑ Painter, John (November 27, 1971). "Weather frustrates hijacker hunt". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022. In Seattle, persons familiar with the chutes said the reserve chest chutes could not have attached to the main chute's harness.
↑ Hawkins, Robert (October 3, 1976). "D.B. Cooper, is he at the bottom of Lake Merwin or walking the streets?". The Seattle Times.
↑ Seattle Times Article (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. October 6, 1976. p.203. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
↑ Frazier, Joseph B. (March 27, 2008). "Skyjacker mystery resurfaces". The Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2022. 'The night it happened, I thought he had a 50percent chance,' he said. '...It has gone down since then.'
↑ "D.B.Cooper, if he's alive, has one more year to go". Walla Walla Union Bulletin. Associated Press. November 24, 1975. 'My personal guess is that there is no better than a 50percent chance that he's alive.'
↑ Frazier, Joe (November 13, 1976). "Sky thief: Bandit who stole $200,000 in 1971 still being sought". Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. p.B-1.
↑ Beeson, Drew (2020). Paratrooper of Fortune. The Woodlands, Texas: Fort Necessity Press. p.242. ISBN9798657525144. Practically all ex-special forces I know
↑ Moore, Stephen L. (2018). Uncommon Valor: The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret (1sted.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p.33. ISBN9781682473122. "Some of his comrades later heard, and believed, that he was the legendary D.B. Cooper
↑ "Scottish Parachuting". Flight International. 82, Part I: 529. 1962. A U.S. Army parachutist, Allen Tyre, won the Scottish Open Championships at Perth on September 15. Runner up was Sgt. Ted Braden, also of the U.S. Army
↑ Dingeman, James (1977). U.S Military Involvement in Southern Africa (1sted.). Boston, MA: South End Press. p.97. ISBN9780896080416.
↑ Moore 2018, pp.63: "Congressional hearings were beginning regarding SOG activities. Seeing Braden as a potential embarrassment, he was offered an honorable discharge in return for swearing not to disclose anything about SOG activities."
↑ Duncan 1967, pp.22–23:"Braden is among those professionals who appear to have a secret death wish, coupled with well-trained instincts for survival. He continually places himself in unnecessary danger but always manages to get away with it". At one time he was forbidden to free-fall for violating safety regulations. The rules state a jumper must pull and be in the saddle before he reaches 2000 feet. Braden makes a habit of waiting until he is well below 1000 feet."
↑ Duncan 1967, pp.22–23"he 'played the margin' in town as well. He was continuously involved in shady deals to make money.."
↑ Thomas, P and Cloherty, J (August 3, 2011): "D.B. Cooper Exclusive: Did Niece Provide Key Evidence?" ABCNews.comArchived May 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 3, 2011.
↑ McNerthney, Casey (November 22, 2007). "D.B. Cooper, where are you?". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2011.(subscription required)
↑ Spencer, Kent (November 21, 2011): Skyjacker D.B. Cooper 'enjoyed the Grey Cup game,' according to 1971 letter attributed to him. National Post archiveArchived July 27, 2024, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 1, 2011
↑ Motaher, Maria. "Richard Floyd McCoy, Jr". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
↑ "Widow of Man Linked in Book to Skyjacker D.B. Cooper Sues Authors, Provo Attorney". Associated Press. January 18, 1992. p.B5.
↑ Funk, Marianne (February 21, 1992). McCoy's Widow Admits Helping in '72 Hijacking. Deseret News ArchiveArchived October 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 21, 2011.
↑ Rhodes, Bernie; Calame, Russell (1991). D.B. Cooper: The Real McCoy. University of Utah Press. ISBN0874803772.[pageneeded]
↑ Schindler, Harold (November 24, 1996). "25 Years Later, 'D.B' Remains Tied to Utah; Skyjacker Took Story To His Grave". The Salt Lake Tribune.
↑ Some notable examples, cited by Rhodes and Calame: Cooper's age was estimated by all witnesses as mid-40s, McCoy was 29 years old; most witnesses, including all three flight attendants, said Cooper had "dark brown, piercing" eyes, McCoy's eyes were light blue; Cooper's ears had no distinguishing characteristics, McCoy's ears stuck out so prominently that his nickname was "Dumbo", and he wore a scarf to conceal them during the Denver hijacking; Cooper drank bourbon and chain-smoked cigarettes, McCoy was an observant Mormon who did not smoke or drink alcohol; Cooper was described as having a raspy voice with no particular accent, McCoy had a noticeable southern accent, and a marked lisp due to surgical correction of a cleft palate in childhood. Rhodes & Calame (1991), pp. 86, 94, 96, 134, 145.
1 2 3 Gladwell, Malcolm (October 1, 2001). "Safety in the skies". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
↑ Taylor, Daniel L. (January 21, 1972). "Parachutist hijacker captured". Eugene Register Guard. UPI. p.3A. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
↑ "Hijacker foiled; tracked by jets". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. January 21, 1972. p.19. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
↑ Whelan, Frank (June 30, 1985): "A-B-E Hijacker Who Parachuted into Jungle Is Free From Prison Air Piracy" Morning Call ArchiveArchived January 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 3, 2011.
Gunther, Max (1985). D. B. Cooper: What Really Happened. Chicago: Contemporary Books. ISBN978-0809251803. OCLC12103370. — Disclaimer: Large amounts of Gunther's content based on alleged interviews with a woman known as "Clara", who claimed to have discovered an injured Cooper two days after the hijacking and lived with him until he died a decade later. This material is considered by the FBI and others as a hoax or fabrication, whether by Gunther or "Clara". For critical analysis, seePerry, Douglas (November 15, 2018). "New suspect in D.B.Cooper skyjacking case unearthed by Army data analyst; FBI stays mum". OregonLive.com. The Portland Oregonian. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2022. Others called it straight-up fiction, and for good reason. A key subplot of the book – LeClair and Clara's meet-cute experience in a small, unnamed Northwest town the day after the skyjacking – is obviously untrue. ... Another interpretation: Gunther just made it all up.
Olson, Kay Melchisedech (2010). D.B. Cooper Hijacking: Vanishing Act. Compass Point Books. ISBN978-0756543594. (Straightforward accounting of official information and evidence.)
Further reading
Wigger, John (2023). The Hijacking of American Flight 119: How D. B. Cooper Inspired a Skyjacking Craze and the FBI's Battle to Stop It. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-769575-3.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to D. B. Cooper .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Composite Sketch A – November 1971
Composite Sketch B – late 1972
Revised Composite Sketch B – winter 1972–1973
