Who was D.B. Cooper?
To this day, no one knows his real name but on Nov. 24, 1971, everyone in America was talking about the mysterious man who called himself D.B. Cooper.
The suspect purchased his airline ticket under the fake name Dan Cooper, but due to a news media miscommunication he became known in popular lore as "D. B. Cooper." |
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That day, Cooper hijacked Northwest Airlines Flight 305 and its 36 passengers using a briefcase that he said contained a bomb. "We will ask you to stay there until we get coordinated with our friend in the back," the pilot told the control tower after the plane landed in Seattle. Once $200,000 and several parachutes were delivered per Cooper's request, he demanded the plane fly him to Mexico. He also asked for the rear door to remain unlocked and the plane to be flown low and slow.
Cooper clearly had a plan, although officials didn't realize what it was until it was too late. While the plane flew to Reno, Nev. (ostensibly for a refueling stop), Cooper parachuted into the night. Despite the fact that law-enforcement officials in five different planes were tailing the jetliner, no one witnessed the jump. Though the FBI contends that Cooper couldn't have survived, it released new composite sketches in 2007 in hopes of closing the case.
Cooper clearly had a plan, although officials didn't realize what it was until it was too late. While the plane flew to Reno, Nev. (ostensibly for a refueling stop), Cooper parachuted into the night. Despite the fact that law-enforcement officials in five different planes were tailing the jetliner, no one witnessed the jump. Though the FBI contends that Cooper couldn't have survived, it released new composite sketches in 2007 in hopes of closing the case.
The particulars of D.B. Cooper's clever airborne crime and daredevil getaway have been pondered, and picked over for four decades now.
He extorted $200,000 from its owner, Northwest Orient, then leaped from the airborne 727 with 21 pounds of $20 bills strapped to his torso.
He was never seen again—dead or alive. The crime was perfect if he lived, perfectly crazy if he didn't.
In either case, D.B. Cooper's nom de crime--no one knows his real name—may be the most recognized alias among western felons since Jack the Ripper.
Everyone from dour G-men to giddy amateur sleuths have pored over the details, hoping to wheedle a resolution out of some overlooked aspect, as though a clue concealed in the holdup's hieroglyph of facts might lead to his capture.
Yet the case remains unsolved more than 40 years later, and D. B. Cooper has become the Bigfoot of crime, evading one of the most extensive and expensive American manhunts of the 20th century. The whereabouts of the man (or his remains) is one of the great crime mysteries of our time.
D.B. Cooper's crime was different from most. First, no innocent bystander was injured, although law enforcers argue that he put several dozen lives at risk.
Cooper's crime also was unusual in that it helped rally critical support for sweeping air travel security initiatives, including passenger screening. Until D. B. Cooper's skydive, it was entirely possible to walk aboard a jet carrying a bomb.
Many Americans commended his moxie (courage). He was celebrated in a song, film and books. He managed to tweak J. Edgar Hoover's (the leader of the FBI) nose and steal a bag of loot from a big corporation.
But did D. B. Cooper get away with it? No one can say for certain. We do know that he could have survived the dangerous nighttime skydive because Cooper's caper, like a crime science experiment, was replicated with complete success by a copycat aerial clip artist just months later. That hijacker hit the ground safely, although the mimic ultimately paid dearly. The copycat case also spawned a controversial theory about the fate of Dan Cooper.
Coincidentally, Cooper himself probably copied a similar hijacking that occurred two weeks before his endeavor.
Many others have tried variations on the airline extortion technique—generally with less success. Some have "splattered," as law enforcers like to say. FBI investigators believe Cooper probably met that fate—a fatal kiss of the ground. But their opinion is far from agreed upon .
Books by a half-dozen authors, including three separate tomes by ex-FBI agents, have created theories about what happened to Cooper. Several men have stepped forward claiming to be Cooper, although none convincingly so. Some believe Cooper is alive and well and living on a beach in Mexico. Others say he slipped back into an obscure American life and grins like a Cheshire cat at premature reports of his demise.
He extorted $200,000 from its owner, Northwest Orient, then leaped from the airborne 727 with 21 pounds of $20 bills strapped to his torso.
He was never seen again—dead or alive. The crime was perfect if he lived, perfectly crazy if he didn't.
In either case, D.B. Cooper's nom de crime--no one knows his real name—may be the most recognized alias among western felons since Jack the Ripper.
Everyone from dour G-men to giddy amateur sleuths have pored over the details, hoping to wheedle a resolution out of some overlooked aspect, as though a clue concealed in the holdup's hieroglyph of facts might lead to his capture.
Yet the case remains unsolved more than 40 years later, and D. B. Cooper has become the Bigfoot of crime, evading one of the most extensive and expensive American manhunts of the 20th century. The whereabouts of the man (or his remains) is one of the great crime mysteries of our time.
D.B. Cooper's crime was different from most. First, no innocent bystander was injured, although law enforcers argue that he put several dozen lives at risk.
Cooper's crime also was unusual in that it helped rally critical support for sweeping air travel security initiatives, including passenger screening. Until D. B. Cooper's skydive, it was entirely possible to walk aboard a jet carrying a bomb.
Many Americans commended his moxie (courage). He was celebrated in a song, film and books. He managed to tweak J. Edgar Hoover's (the leader of the FBI) nose and steal a bag of loot from a big corporation.
But did D. B. Cooper get away with it? No one can say for certain. We do know that he could have survived the dangerous nighttime skydive because Cooper's caper, like a crime science experiment, was replicated with complete success by a copycat aerial clip artist just months later. That hijacker hit the ground safely, although the mimic ultimately paid dearly. The copycat case also spawned a controversial theory about the fate of Dan Cooper.
Coincidentally, Cooper himself probably copied a similar hijacking that occurred two weeks before his endeavor.
Many others have tried variations on the airline extortion technique—generally with less success. Some have "splattered," as law enforcers like to say. FBI investigators believe Cooper probably met that fate—a fatal kiss of the ground. But their opinion is far from agreed upon .
Books by a half-dozen authors, including three separate tomes by ex-FBI agents, have created theories about what happened to Cooper. Several men have stepped forward claiming to be Cooper, although none convincingly so. Some believe Cooper is alive and well and living on a beach in Mexico. Others say he slipped back into an obscure American life and grins like a Cheshire cat at premature reports of his demise.