The D.B. Cooper Case
A hijacker jumped into the night with $200,000 and was never seen again.
Briefing
On November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 between Portland and Seattle, claiming he had a bomb. In Seattle he traded the 36 passengers for $200,000 in cash and parachutes, then ordered the crew back into the air toward Mexico City. Somewhere over southwestern Washington he lowered the rear stairs of the Boeing 727 and jumped with the money strapped to him.
What happened to the hijacker after he jumped?
Evidence board
- E1Flight 305, Nov 24, 1971
The note and the demand
Once the Boeing 727 was airborne, he handed a flight attendant a note claiming he had a bomb, then demanded $200,000 in cash and parachutes.
Source: National Archives at Seattle - E2Over southwestern Washington
The jump
He opened the rear door, lowered the aircraft's built-in stairs and parachuted out with the ransom strapped to him.
Source: History.com - E3After the hijacking
No trace in the searches
He was never seen again, and no trace of him turned up in the searches that followed the hijacking.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine - E41980, Columbia River
Sealed. Question a witness to open it.
- E51971 onward
Several names, no charges
Several suspects have circulated over the decades, and none has ever been charged over the Cooper hijacking itself.
Source: History.com - E6April 7, 1972
A copycat, five months later
Five months later another man carried out a strikingly similar hijacking on a flight between Newark and Los Angeles, jumping from the plane the same way; he was convicted of air piracy for that crime.
Source: History.com - E7National Archives, Seattle
Sealed. Question a witness to open it.
- E8July 2016
The FBI stops looking
After 45 years the FBI redirected its resources, saying nothing new remained to pursue and that an enormous volume of tips had never produced definitive proof of anyone's identity.
Source: CBS News
Witnesses
The flight attendant
Composite characterCabin crew on Flight 305 (composite)
I was working the cabin the night he took over our flight.
The retired agent
Composite characterFBI agent who worked the case (composite)
I worked this file for years, right up until the bureau moved on.