The Mystery of D. B. Cooper
On the 24th of November 1971 a man boarded a Boeing 727, hijacked it, received a $200,000 ransom and then parachuted from the plane never to be seen again. The daring of the escape and the uncertainty over his fate continue to fascinate and intrigue people.
The Hijack
On the day before Thanksgiving in the USA a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle. Wearing a black raincoat, a dark suit and white shirt, dark sunglasses, a black tie with a mother of pearl tie pin and carrying a briefcase; the man in his mid-forties attracted little attention as he took his seat at the back of the plane.
A few minutes after take off he handed a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner sitting nearby. Thinking that the passenger was trying to give her his phone number she slipped it unopened into her pocket. However encouraged by Cooper she opened it and read: “I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked.”
Cooper’s note also included instructions for $200,000 in unmarked $20 bills and two sets of parachutes to be delivered to the plane when it landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. When informed by Schaffner of the hijacking the pilot, William Scott, contacted Seattle air traffic control who in turn alerted the police and FBI. Told by the FBI and the airline to co-operate with the hijacker the plane went into a holding pattern until the money and parachutes were ready as requested. Cooper meanwhile, sat in the plane quietly sipping bourbon and soda.
At 17:24 the plane was radioed by air traffic control to inform them that the demands had been met. Once the plane had landed Cooper instructed Scott to taxi the plane to a quiet section of the tarmac and dim the interior lights. A Northwest Orient employee was chosen to deliver the cash and parachutes and after they were brought on board, the other 35 passengers and one of the flight attendants were released.
At this stage the FBI were puzzled as to Cooper’s intentions. Why had he requested four parachutes? The agents speculated as to whether he had an accomplice on board or if they were for the four members of the flight crew who were still on board the plane.
At 19:40, after refuelling, the plane retook to the skies heading for Reno where it was to refuel again before heading to Mexico. Immediately after take off Cooper ordered all the flight crew into the cockpit and told them to stay there. Moments later the crew noticed a flashing light indicating that the aft stairs had been opened and they noticed a sudden change in air pressure. At 20:13 they felt the aft stairway bump…
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Post Commentanonymous
On May 6, 2009 at 5:18 am
why dont they run his portrait characteristics through the facial recognition database that they use in the state of nevada for casino surveillance yes it is just an artist sketch but it may prove useful
anonymous
On May 6, 2009 at 5:41 am
the person who said they were Dan Cooper got on the plane in portland so let us start out with the hypothesis that he was from Portland.JC penneys was in downtown portland(his tie was from jc penneys)also in 1971 there really were no specialty comic stores per se.So where would a person have access to a foreign Comic book??Powell Bookstore in northwest portland maybe??they opened in 1971..Maybe the person who used Dan Cooper as an alias patronized Powell Books in november 1971.Maybe someone who worked for powell books when they opened remember a 40ish year old man obsessed with Comics.Also maybe employees that worked at JC Penneys at that time remember some strange reclusish looking man that frequented the Mens Department.Just an idea since there is nothing else to go on anyway???