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The Mysterious Skyjacking Case of D.B. Cooper: Into Thin Air

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He walked onto a plane with a name that wasn’t his, ordered a bourbon and 7-Up, handed over a note saying he had a bomb, took $200,000 in cash, four parachutes, and then—somewhere over the Pacific Northwest on a cold November night in 1971—stepped out the back of a Boeing 727 and vanished.

No confirmed body. No confirmed parachute. No confirmed identity.

The world knows him as D.B. Cooper—though he called himself Dan Cooper—and his hijacking of Northwest Orient Flight 305 remains the only unsolved skyjacking in U.S. history. More than 50 years later, the FBI has closed the case, but the story has only gotten bigger. Let’s walk it the way a true crime writer should: facts first, then the rabbit holes.


The Setup: November 24, 1971

It was the day before Thanksgiving. Flight 305 was a short hop—Portland to Seattle—with 36 passengers aboard a Boeing 727-100. A man in his mid-40s, well-dressed in a dark suit, black tie with a mother-of-pearl tie pin, and a white shirt, bought his ticket under the name “Dan Cooper.” He paid cash. That mattered, even in 1971.

He took a seat in the rear of the aircraft, in 18C (you’ll see 18E in some tellings, but the accepted version has him toward the back, important because of how the 727 is built). He ordered a drink—bourbon and 7-Up. Nothing dramatic. No wild eyes. No ranting. Just a man on a plane.

Then he passed a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner. She thought it was a phone number and slipped it in her pocket. He leaned in and quietly said, “Miss, you’d better look at that note. I have a bomb.”


The Note and the Bomb

The note, now lost to history, said he had a bomb and wanted her to sit beside him. When she did, he opened his briefcase just enough for her to see wires, red cylinders—convincing enough to take seriously.

His demands were specific:

  1. $200,000 in cash (about $1.4 million in today’s money),

  2. Four parachutes (two main, two reserve),

  3. A fuel truck ready in Seattle to refuel the plane,

  4. No funny business.

The request for four parachutes was smart. It suggested he might take a hostage with him, which discouraged the FBI from giving him sabotaged gear. This was not a wild, impulsive hijacker. This was someone who had thought through the leverage.


Seattle: The Exchange

Northwest and the FBI moved quickly. The plane circled Puget Sound for roughly two hours while authorities assembled the ransom and parachutes. Passengers were told there was a “minor mechanical difficulty.” No one panicked; it was 1971, and hijackings—usually to Cuba—were not unheard of.

When Flight 305 finally landed in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Cooper’s plan unfolded exactly as he wanted:

  • The 36 passengers were released in exchange for the money and parachutes.

  • He kept four crew members onboard: pilot Captain William Scott, co-pilot, a flight engineer, and flight attendant Tina Mucklow.

  • He inspected the ransom—$200,000 in $20 bills, recorded by serial number.

  • He rejected some of the parachute gear but accepted a set that would later become important.

Then he issued his next set of instructions.


The Escape Plan: Low, Slow, and South

Cooper told the crew to take off and fly south toward Mexico City—but under very specific conditions:

  • Altitude: 10,000 feet

  • Speed: About 200 knots (230 mph)

  • Landing gear: Down

  • Flaps: 15 degrees

  • Cabin: Unpressurized

In other words, he wanted a configuration that would allow someone to exit the plane mid-flight.

The captain said they didn’t have the fuel to reach Mexico under those conditions. They compromised: they’d fly south toward Reno, Nevada, to refuel, then continue. Cooper agreed.

Then came the crucial part: Cooper ordered the crew to stay in the cockpit and not come out. The Boeing 727 had a unique feature—a rear “aft airstair” that could be lowered in flight. Cooper knew that. That’s not something the average traveler in 1971 knew. That single detail is why many believe he had aviation, military, or Boeing-adjacent knowledge.


The Jump: Somewhere Over Washington

At around 8:00 p.m., in the dark, in November weather, over rough terrain somewhere between Seattle and Portland, the crew noticed a pressure bump—like the aircraft shifting weight. That was likely Cooper lowering the staircase.

Around 8:13 p.m., the plane’s tail section registered another noticeable movement. That’s the moment most investigators agree D.B. Cooper jumped—backwards into legend.

When the plane landed in Reno, the FBI swarmed it. Cooper was gone. The money was gone. One parachute was gone. The aft stairs were down. No one had seen him leave.

No body was found that night. Or the next day. Or ever.


The Investigation: 45 Years of “Who Was He?”

The FBI launched NORJAK—short for Northwest Hijacking—and it became one of the longest, most resource-consuming investigations in Bureau history.

They had:

  • A physical description: white male, mid-40s, 5’10”–6’0”, 170–180 lbs, olive or swarthy complexion, calm, well-spoken, possibly with a Midwest accent.

  • His tie: a black clip-on JCPenney tie, later analyzed for microscopic particles.

  • The ransom serial numbers: all recorded.

  • The flight path: approximated, but not exact.

  • A general jump area: rural southwest Washington, heavily forested, cold, rough terrain.

They searched with ground teams, aircraft, door-to-door interviews. Nothing.


The Only Real Physical Break: Tena Bar, 1980

For nine years, nothing surfaced. Then in 1980, an 8-year-old boy named Brian Ingram found $5,800 in decaying $20 bills on the Columbia River’s Tina Bar, north of Portland. The serial numbers matched the Cooper money.

This raised more questions than answers:

  • Did Cooper survive and lose part of the ransom into the river later?

  • Did the money wash downstream from the drop zone?

  • Was the money planted?

That discovery proved at least some of the cash made it into the environment, but it did not prove Cooper died. It did, however, complicate the flight-path theories.


Did He Survive?

This is the heart of the legend.

Arguments that he died:

  • It was night, cold, raining, with 200 mph winds.

  • He jumped without modern skydiving gear.

  • He wore loafers and a business suit.

  • He had no visible survival equipment.

  • The terrain was brutal—dense forest, rivers, steep ground.

  • No bank used the marked bills.

Arguments that he survived:

  • He asked for four parachutes, indicating planning.

  • He knew about the 727’s aft stairs.

  • He chose a flight path over land, not ocean.

  • No body, no parachute, no ransom (except the Tina Bar bills) was ever found.

  • A man smart enough to hijack a plane this cleanly may have staged it to make it look suicidal, then walked out.


The FBI leaned increasingly toward “he likely did not survive.” But “likely” is not proof. And in true crime, “not solved” keeps a case alive.


The Suspects

Dozens of suspects have been floated; a few stuck in the public imagination.

  1. Richard Floyd McCoy – Pulled a very similar hijacking in 1972 and used a 727’s stairs. Many think he was a copycat. The FBI said he wasn’t Cooper.

  2. Duane Weber – On his deathbed allegedly told his wife he was D.B. Cooper. The FBI didn’t find enough to back it.

  3. Kenneth Christiansen – A former Northwest employee with knowledge of the aircraft. Popularized by a TV special. FBI didn’t buy it.

  4. Robert Rackstraw – Vietnam vet, explosives background, featured in the documentary “D.B. Cooper: Case Closed?” The FBI said no. But if rumors were true, he worked for the CIA, and that would preclude the feds from pursuing him.

  5. Lynn Doyle Cooper – A family member said he confessed. Never substantiated.

  6. “Dan Cooper” comic theory – The name may have been taken from a Belgian comic-book hero, “Dan Cooper,” about a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot. That suggests someone with exposure to European comics or aviation culture.

The problem? No suspect ever matched the evidence enough for a charge. No ransom money ever turned up in circulation. And fingerprints from the plane weren’t conclusive.


Why “D.B.” and Not “Dan”?

This is pure media telephone game. The hijacker wrote “Dan Cooper” on his ticket. A reporter, working off early police chatter, heard “D.B. Cooper”—possibly from a different person being questioned—and the name stuck. “D.B.” just sounded better for headlines. So the world got a rogue folk hero with a punchy outlaw name.


The FBI Bows Out

In 2016, after 45 years, the FBI formally said they were suspending active investigation of the Cooper case to focus resources elsewhere. That doesn’t mean they don’t look at credible tips; it means the era of constant fieldwork is over.

Officially: unsolved.

Unofficially: they had a decent idea of the type of man he was, but not the identity to match it.


The Myth vs. the Crime

Let’s separate what makes this case popular from what makes it criminally unique.

Popular because:

  • Stylish, calm hijacker

  • No one on the plane was hurt

  • He beat the system

  • He vanished

  • He didn’t fit the messy, impulsive criminal model

Criminally unique because:

  • He exploited a specific aircraft feature (rear airstair)

  • He controlled the scene from start to finish

  • He forced the airline and FBI to follow his tempo

  • He left almost no useful forensic trail

This was a crime of control and planning, not rage. That’s why it feels different from typical hijackings of the era, which were often political, erratic, or poorly executed.


So Who Was D.B. Cooper?

The most reasonable profile:

  • Male, white, 40–50 in 1971

  • Military or parachute exposure or aviation-adjacent employment

  • Comfortable with risk but not reckless

  • Intelligent, organized, polite

  • Possibly Canadian or familiar with Canadian culture (the “Dan Cooper” comic connection)

  • Likely followed the coverage afterward

  • Either died in the jump or was disciplined enough never to flash the money

He was not a kid. Not a radical. Not a drunk. He was a quiet professional of some kind.


Why the Case Endures

Because it gives us the perfect unsolved cocktail:

  1. A clever, non-bloody crime – Nobody wants to root for murderers. Rooting for someone who embarrassed the airline industry in the ‘70s? Easier.

  2. A clean exit – He disappeared mid-air. That’s cinematic.

  3. A name you can brand – “D.B. Cooper” sounds like a pulp novel.

  4. Enough clues to argue about forever – the money at Tina Bar, the flight path, the weather, the parachute choice.

  5. No definitive answer – so every few years, a “new suspect” surfaces and the story lives again.


Final Take

As a true crime case, the Cooper hijacking is maddening: we have the where, when, how, and even the method of escape—but not the who and not the what happened after. That’s why this one sits in a different bucket than murders, kidnappings, or serial offenders. It’s a precision crime with a vanishing point.

Did he die in the woods that night, broken on impact, the money pulled apart by water and time?

Or did he walk out of the trees, soaked and freezing, with $200,000 in ransom and the satisfaction of knowing the FBI had nothing but a tie and a legend?

That’s the hold of the D.B. Cooper case: the man jumped into the dark, and all these years later, we’re still looking up after him.


sources used for this podcast:

Philbrook, S., & Burgess, F. (Hosts). (2020, September 11). Ep 188: D. B. Cooper Part 1 [Audio podcast episode]. In Astonishing Legends. Astonishing Legends Productions. https://astonishinglegends.com/al-podcasts/2020/9/11/ep-188-d-b-cooper-part-1

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Television Episodes:

51.  Party Down. (2009, May 22). Company Picnic (Season 2, Episode 7) [TV series episode]. In J. Enbom, D. Lynch, P. Rudd, & J. Stern (Executive Producers), Party Down. Starz.

52.  South Park. (1999, July 21). Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub (Season 3, Episode 8) [TV series episode]. In T. Parker & M. Stone (Creators), South Park. Comedy Central.

53.  Films:

54.  Airplane! (1980). [Film]. Paramount Pictures.

55.  Pee-wee's Big Adventure. (1985). [Film]. Warner Bros.

56.  Music Short Film:

57.  Now You Has Jazz. (1956). [Short film; Musical performance]. MGM.


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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of any affiliated organizations. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, we do not claim to be legal or medical experts. Listener discretion is advised due to the graphic nature of some content, including descriptions of violence and criminal behavior.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Copyright & OwnershipThis podcast episode, including all audio, video, and written content, is the property of Hitched 2 Homicide and its creators, © 2025 Kris Calvert & Rob Pottorf of RP Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Do not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of this content without express written permission.

For licensing, press inquiries, or collaboration requests, contact: kris@hitched2homicide.com

For more true crime episodes, visit: www.Hitched2Homicide.com

Thanks for listening and remember… Southern charm won’t save you from true crime.

 

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All information contained in this audio podcast or video presentation is provided for entertainment purposes only. The authors leave any and all conclusions to individual members of the audience. The author offers no statements of fact beyond those available through diligent private research or through information freely available in the public record. To the extent that pending or settled criminal matters or crime or possible crimes, are discussed in this audio podcast or video presentation, all parties or defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. To the extent that any pending or settled civil matters are discussed in this video presentation, all parties or defendants are presumed not liable unless proven liable in a court of law. Copyright for material incorporated and presented under Fair Use is retained by the original author or copyright holder where applicable. Our cases are researched using open source and archive materials, and the subjects are real crimes and people. We strive to produce each episode with respect to the victims, their families and loved ones. At Hitched 2 Homicide we are committed to always discussing how victims lived, and not just how they died. All podcast information is gleaned from sources given. All opinions in the podcast are solely of Hitched 2 Homicide and are for entertainment purposes only.

Listener discretion is advised due to the graphic nature of some content, including descriptions of violence and criminal behavior.

Copyright & Ownership: This podcast episode, including all audio, video, and written content, is the property of Hitched 2 Homicide and its creators, © 2025 Kris Calvert & Rob Pottorf of RP Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Do not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of this content without express written permission.

For licensing, press inquiries, or collaboration requests, contact: kris@hitched2homicide.com

For more true crime episodes, visit: www.Hitched2Homicide.com

Thanks for listening and remember… Southern charm won’t save you from true crime.

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© 2025 RP MUSIC, INC. FOR HITCHED 2 HOMICIDE

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