The Legend of D. B. Cooper

Back in 1971, security on commercial flights didn’t exist at all. Anyone can get on an aircraft carrying a gun or even a bomb!

Nobody was requesting identification for domestic flights, and even inflight smoking was prevalent. Airports only made checkpoints at the boarding gates mandatory in 1973.

This is also the case in the story of D. B. Cooper. A well-planned highjack and a legendary escape.

In 1971, the legendary hijacker escaped with $200,000 in cash, parachuting from an airborne Boeing 727–100, baffling the FBI on his identity for decades.

The only unsolved hijacking case in aviation’s history that still fascinates people fifty years later.

As everyone is still seeking D. B. Cooper, the long list of suspects is overwhelming research.

We still learn about new clues, even fifty years later, although perhaps this is a mystery most would rather remain unsolved.

D. B. Cooper: The Hijacking Of Flight 305

November 24, 1971

Identifying himself as Dan Cooper (reporters changed it to D.B. Cooper) a well-dressed man in his mid-40s carrying a black briefcase boarded the NorthWest Orient Airlines flight 305 from Portland airport, heading to Seattle.

2:58 PM Portland International Airport

D. B. Cooper chose a seat in the last row.

Immediately upon departure (at 2:58 p.m.), he handed a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner, mentioning:

“Miss — I have a bomb in my briefcase and want you to sit by me”

The letter suggested the flight attendant sat next to him, as he was carrying a bomb and wanted to present his demands.

Schaffner sat next to him and asked D. B. Cooper to show her the bomb.

The man opened the briefcase and presented to the flight attendant what she described as dynamite (red-colored sticks wired together).

Cooper then ordered Schaffner to write his demands on a piece of paper and pass it to the pilots.

The demands were simple:

• $200,000 in $20 bills in a knapsack
• Four parachutes (two main, and two reserves)
• The plane was to be ready at 5:00 pm

D. B. Cooper instructed precisely to receive $200,000 in negotiable American currency.

Cooper expressed more demands to the flight attendants:

• Refueling was to occur immediately upon landing
• The passengers should stay seated until the backpack with the money was first handed over
• The chutes to be provided last

5:46 PM (PST) Seattle-Tacoma Airport

The plane landed, and the exchange occurred with Cooper getting the ransom while the passengers got out, with no one noticing the hijacking.

After every passenger disembarked, Cooper also allowed two of the flight attendant to leave.

Only Cooper and the six crew members remained aboard the aircraft. Cooper noticed a delay in the refueling process and ordered the captain to take off.

07:40 pm

The plane took off from Seattle, and Cooper asked to head for Mexico City. However, the captain informed the hijacker that the fuel was not enough, and another refuel landing was necessary. Cooper accepted the captain’s suggestion to land at Reno’s airport, and during the flight, he ordered all the crew to stay in the cockpit.

08:00 pm

North of Portland, Cooper opened the aft staircase and dived into the night sky during a heavy rainstorm.

11:00 pm

The plane landed at Reno-Tahoe International airport, where the FBI extensively searched the cabin for thirty minutes.

FBI findings:

• 66 fingerprints
• A black tie and a tie clip belonging to Cooper
• Two of the parachutes
• 8 Raleigh cigarette butts
• Hair sample perceived to be Cooper’s

Cooper jumped while holding the briefcase containing the bomb, the ransom, and even the letter he gave to the flight attendant.

The Search For D.B. Cooper

While the hijacker gave the name Dan Cooper, reporters mistakenly used “D. B. Cooper” after a misunderstanding with a suspect police investigated the following day.

So, the alias D. B. Cooper remained.

The FBI, with support from the military and police, searched the broader area D. B. Cooper might have landed.

This was one of the biggest manhunts in US history, although it wasn’t an easy task as they had to cover a large mountainous and heavily wooded terrain covered in winter conditions.

Initially, the search took place near Mount St. Helens, close to Ariel, Washington. After the first day, the FBI expanded the search to Lake Merwin and Yale Lake, and other surrounding areas, but to no avail.

D. B. Cooper had escaped.

Many investigators speculated it was possible that D. B. Cooper did not survive but had crash-landed and died. However, months later, approximately five copycat hijackers executed the same plan and landed safely, proving Cooper’s odds were in his favor. FBI arrested all these hijackers within days.

The $200,000 ransom serial numbers

Police gave the serial numbers to every financial institution in the country, every casino, and any business with large transactions in paper cash, even to law enforcement agencies outside of the US.

Still, no money was found until a decade later.

1980: An Accidental Discovery!

Almost ten years after the incident, a young boy named Brian Ingram discovered $5,800 in cash buried in Tena Bar, at the banks of Columbia River, Vancouver, Washington.

The serial numbers on the paper cash matched the ransom given to Cooper.

A new search started with the FBI scanning the place for more clues.

Yet, this was just it.

There was no lead as to how the money turned out buried there and no more of the D.B. Cooper money with designated serial numbers were recovered on-site or traced again.

Investigation and Suspects

This case contains a long list of suspects, but the FBI excluded everyone, as witnesses did not identify D. B. Cooper after examining them, and later DNA tests did not bring results to match the DNA found on Cooper’s tie.

The FBI focused the investigation on these details:

• D. B. Cooper had experience with military parachutes. A flight attendant, when handing Cooper the chutes, also gave him a pamphlet with directions, but D. B. Cooper responded he would not need it.
• He also knew the 727 aircraft well, so he might have had experience working in the aviation industry.
• Cooper did not have an accomplisher on the ground. He executed the plan all alone.

Besides the briefcase containing the bomb, Cooper was also carrying a large paper bag which the FBI speculated that it contained goggles, gloves, and boots to assist Cooper with his jump.

Without boots, the landing could have resulted in a foot injury, or worse.

The FBI later concluded that military training wasn’t required and perhaps Cooper only had a small experience with parachuting, but still enough to perform this stunt.

Nobody found the parachute, leading investigators to believe he landed safely.

The Cabin Evidence

Police forensics used DNA testing in 1986 for the first time.

With modern technology available, the FBI started again investigating suspects, hoping to find a match.

However, the FBI office in Las Vegas lost both the cigarette butts and the hair samples collected from the cabin and believed to contain Cooper’s DNA.

This evidence was nowhere to be found when the FBI tried to analyze DNA samples again.

Still, they extracted DNA samples from the tie Cooper left behind.

The tie was the only evidence left useful in retrieving DNA information.

Later, with modern equipment, researchers discovered traces of titanium on the tie, and the FBI initiated a new search, leading to more suspects but none with definitive evidence.

1995: The Confession of Duane Weber

In 1995, Duane Weber (a career felon and con artist), according to his wife Josephine Weber, confessed to her on his deathbed that he was Dan Cooper.

FBI lead investigator Ralph Himmelsbach, in 2000, believed Duane Weber’s case could lead somewhere, however, DNA samples taken by the FBI still didn’t match.

Here, another question arises, if DNA samples from the tie were enough, or perhaps the loss of the rest evidence (cigarette butts and hair) had a detrimental effect on the solution of this case.

Special Agent Fred Gutt said the DNA sample found on the tie had come from three different people and was not enough to rule Uncle L.D. out. (source)

The Dan Cooper Comic Book First Published in 1954

A comic book was launched in Canada in 1954, illustrating the adventures of a fictional character dubbed Dan Cooper, a test pilot for the Canadian air force.

In 2009, researcher Tom Kaye, who worked on the case in coordination with the FBI, speculated that this fictional character could have inspired the hijacker to use the alias “Dan Cooper”.

Some of the comics storylines seemingly match aspects of the D. B. Cooper case, including jumping out of a plane with a parachute, as well as a ransom being delivered in a knapsack. (Wikipedia)

They only released the comic book in Canada in the French language, so speculation arises if the hijacker was American, or perhaps Canadian.

On another clue, during the incident, D. B. Cooper had made a request that seems rather bizarre. He specifically mentioned the ransom to be paid in “negotiable American currency”.

We could speculate D. B. Cooper was a French Canadian, although that might be a long shot. Approximately 25% of Canadians speak French.

Closing Thoughts

For decades, several people invested time and funds to crack this enigma.

Most likely, the person behind D. B. Cooper is not alive today since he was already in his forties, and fifty more years have passed.

D. B. Cooper is undeniably a legend who achieved such a dangerous task, but he also was a criminal, hijacking a commercial aviation aircraft and escaping with $200,000 in ransom.

However, he was also a gentleman thief who didn’t hurt anyone.

D. B. Cooper’s decisive approach, the parachute jump, and his glorious escape made his crime a legendary accomplishment.

• Cover Picture on Unsplash (background, modified)

References

• D. B. Cooper, Wikipedia
• FBI Files: Interviews with Passengers
• Tower Communcation Transcript
• The Skyjacker That Got Away: D.B. Cooper (Full Episode) | Undercover History, National Geographic (YouTube)
• D.B. Cooper — Disappearing in the Wilderness, Legends Of America

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Originally published at Medium

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