D.B. Cooper's Infamous Hijacking

On the evening of November 24th 1971, a man who identified himself as Dan Cooper purchased a one way plane ticket from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. Due to a lack of security measures in place at the time, Cooper was free to board the aircraft without having his briefcase inspected, which contained a device he would later claim to be a bomb. Cooper was assigned seat 18C and drew no attention to himself as the flight started its half hour journey to the Emerald City.

Not long after being airborne, Cooper handed a note to one of the flight attendants. At first the flight attendant ignored the note, but Cooper got her attention again and stated "You'd better read that. I have a bomb." The flight attendant checked the note, alerted another flight attendant, who alerted the pilots, who alerted air traffic controllers, who alerted Seattle Police, who alerted the FBI. Cooper demanded that $200,000 and two sets of parachutes be delivered to the plane when it landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). If those demands were not met, Cooper relayed, he would blow the plane to bits while it sat on the tarmac. Cooper used the flight attendant that he originally gave the note to to relay messages back and forth between the cockpit.

Cooper allowed the flight attendant a glimpse into his briefcase, which was where he said he was hiding the bomb. The flight attendant saw wires, a battery, and red cylinders which could have been sticks of dynamite. Cooper ordered the pilots to stay in the air until confirmation from Sea-Tac was given that the money was ready for pick up. The pilots announced to the rest of the passengers on the flight that mechanical problems would require the plane to circle over Sea-Tac for a short period. Most passengers were unaware of the hijacking being coordinated by the man in seat 18C.

Cooper also demanded that the $200,000 be delivered in $20 bills, which weighed him down only 21 pounds. Smaller denominations would have added too much weight for the mid air jump he was planning, and larger denominations would have been more difficult to pass in 1971. Cooper further demanded that the bills be randomly collected, so that the serial numbers were non-sequential. Cops hurried to photograph each of the 10,000 bills, recording their serial numbers.

The cops had a more difficult time finding the parachutes which Cooper demanded. At first, authorities from McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma agreed to provide the chutes, but Cooper rejected those because of the type of opening system they used. Cooper demanded that the chutes be civilian grade. Cops scrambled to find the appropriate chutes but were finally able to track down a skydiving instructor who agreed to provide civilian grade parachutes.

Because Cooper requested two sets of parachutes, the authorities were unsure of Cooper's intentions for the other chute. The thought of taking an airborne hostage negated any ideas of sending Cooper a dummy chute. When the chutes and money were gathered, air traffic controllers radioed the pilots of the hijacked plane to let them know that everything was in place.

When the plane landed, Cooper ordered the interior lights dimmed (to deter police snipers). Cooper also ordered no vehicles to approach the aircraft and that only one person, an airline employee, would deliver the money and the parachutes. When his demands were met, and his money and parachutes were delivered, Cooper allowed all passengers and one flight attendant to exit the aircraft. Four crew members (three in the cockpit and the flight attendant originally given the note) remained on the aircraft. The plane refueled and was again airborne.

Cooper ordered pilots not to exceed an altitude of 10,000 feet, to maintain wing flaps at 15 degrees, and to fly no faster than 150 knots. It was later determined that with these numbers, an experienced skydiver could successfully accomplish a jump from the airborne plane. A flight path was planned for Reno, Nevada, but while in flight, Cooper relocated the flight attendant into the cockpit with the three other crew members. Instrument control panels in the cockpit revealed that hatches were being opened and stairs were being lowered in the cabin. Rather than risk angering their hijacker, the crew maintained their course to Reno. When the plane landed in Reno, one of the pilots waited five minutes before opening the cockpit door and seeing an empty cabin. Cooper had jumped.

Wearing both parachutes and strapping the money to his body with nylon parachute chords, Cooper jumped. The terrain which Cooper jumped into was neither comfortable nor forgiving. D.B. Cooper was never heard from again and many speculate that he never survived the jump. Others, however, take note of the fact that no body was ever found. And aside from almost $6,000 dollars being unearthed by a young boy on a camping trip to Washington, no signs of his money have been found either.

Police have investigated over a thousand possible suspects and thousands of dead end leads, with no luck. Days after the hijacking, federal agents were dispatched to search crime records of all Dan Coopers, just in case the hijacker used his real name. A possible match was uncovered for a man named D.B. Cooper, but that man was later cleared of any involvement. When newspapers discovered that a man named D.B. Cooper was under investigation for the hijacking, the name spread and stuck as the name used to identify the hijacker.

While it may never be known what was the fate of the man we have come to call D.B. Cooper, these things are certain; if D.B. Cooper did live, then his crime was a success, and the man was a genius. If, however, D.B. Cooper died in his jump from the aircraft, then his crime was a failure, and the man was a fool. Perhaps the man's only certain success to date has been his ability to keep us wondering whether he was genius or fool.

Sources:

David Krajicek. D.B. Cooper: The Legendary Daredevil. TruTV Crime Library.

Geoffrey Gray. Unmasking D.B. Cooper. New York Magazine.

Douglas Pasternak. Skyjacker at Large. U.S. News.