SYSK’s Fall True Crime Playlist: SYSK Live: The DB Cooper Heist

Key Takeaways

D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 in 1971, demanding $200,000 and parachutes.
He successfully jumped mid-flight, making it the only unsolved airline hijacking in U.S. history.
FBI investigations and various searches yielded limited direct evidence, with Cooper's ultimate fate unknown.
The D.B. Cooper case led to significant advancements in global airline security measures.
Partial ransom money and forensic clues were discovered years later, reigniting public interest.

On Thanksgiving Eve in 1971, a man using the alias Dan Cooper purchased a $20 one-way ticket for Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle.
He specifically inquired about the Boeing 727-100 aircraft, the only model in the Boeing fleet with an aft staircase.
Cooper, appearing to be in his mid-40s and dressed in a suit and tie, boarded the flight with 37 other passengers and sat in seat 18C.
The flight crew included Captain William Scott, Co-pilot Robert Radizak, and flight attendants Alice Hancock, Tina McClough, and Florence Schaffner.

Cooper handed flight attendant Florence Schaffner a note, then revealed he had a bomb, described as red sticks of dynamite and a timer.
He demanded $200,000 in cash, two sets of parachutes, and a refuel upon landing, threatening to detonate the bomb.
The ransom amount, $200,000, equates to approximately $1.2 million today.
At the time, between 1968 and 1971, there had been 100 commercial hijackings, and passengers could board planes without ID or significant security.

Flight attendant Tina Mucklau was asked by Cooper to sit with him, during which he mentioned recognizing Tacoma and a nearby Air Force base.
Pilots William Scott and Robert Radizak chose to remain on the plane with Cooper despite the availability of a rope ladder for escape.
An FAA psychiatrist analyzed D.B. Cooper's profile, predicting his escape with the money and parachutes, and suggested he might force Mucklau to jump.
Cooper dictated subsequent communications to avoid leaving more handwriting samples after his initial note, which was in block letters.

The airline's president, Donald Nyrop, agreed to pay the $200,000 ransom, which was sourced from C First Bank, and all serial numbers were recorded.
The difficulty of acquiring parachutes in 1971, as recreational skydiving was not popular, led airport manager Al Lee to connect with Earl Casse.
Earl Casse, owner of Seattle Sky Sports, procured the necessary equipment, arranging for two front and two back parachutes.
Cooper specifically requested one military, two regular, and one 'dummy chute,' the latter identified by an 'X' and having its main canopy sewn shut.

Cooper provided specific flight instructions: maintain below 10,000 feet, set wing flaps at 15 degrees, and fly at 190 miles per hour (200 knots).
He insisted on these parameters to ensure the cabin was not fully pressurized for a safe exit, and improvised a handle for the cumbersome money bag using parachute rigging.
Flight attendant Tina Mucklaw was sent to the cockpit after Cooper rescinded an offer of rope to secure herself, and moments later, he disappeared.
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Following the hijacking, the FBI initiated a large-scale manhunt involving approximately a thousand troops and police officers near Ariel, Washington.
The CIA also became involved, scrambling a highly classified SR-71 Blackbird multiple times to assist in the search.
The hijacker, initially known as Dan Cooper, was publicly referred to as 'D.B. Cooper' due to a reporter's scoop and a cop's reference to a cat burglar.
The FBI maintained the D.B. Cooper name, theorizing any leads for 'Dan Cooper' would be credible, and considered a 1950s Belgian comic book featuring a jet pilot named Dan Cooper as a potential clue.

The FBI's official stance, particularly held by agent Ralph Himmelsbach, was that D.B. Cooper died during the jump due to the harsh conditions.
Conditions included -7 degrees Fahrenheit at 10,000 feet, a 190 mph descent, freezing rain, and minimal light over the mountainous Cascade region with sharp trees.
The bomb is now believed to have been a fake, constructed from road flares and an alarm clock, not dynamite.
Clues left on the plane included Cooper's clip-on tie and eight Raleigh cigarette butts, while fingerprints were found on a Sky Mall magazine.

In 1980, eight-year-old Brian Ingram discovered stacks of $20 bills totaling $5,880 while camping on Tina Bar on the Columbia River, later identified as D.B. Cooper ransom money by the FBI.
An FBI hydrologist suggested the money reached the location via the Columbia River flooding in 1974 or dredging in 1977, though the exact method remains unconfirmed.
In 2008, children in Amboy, Washington, found a parachute, which the FBI identified as likely belonging to D.B. Cooper.
However, expert Earl Cossey determined this parachute was made of silk, not nylon like Cooper's, suggesting it was not his.

Richard McCoy, a Vietnam veteran and Green Beret, became an early suspect after hijacking a 727 in 1972, demanding $500,000 and parachuting over Utah, actions mirroring Cooper's.
Dwayne Weber, a career criminal, was implicated by his wife, who claimed he confessed to being Dan Cooper on his deathbed in 1995, but the FBI later ruled him out using DNA evidence.
Kenny Christensen emerged as a suspect, identified by his brother Lyle, who noted Christensen's background as a former paratrooper and Northwest Orient Airlines purser, and his residence in the area.
New DNA evidence from Cooper's tie yielded three potential profiles, and titanium and impatience pollen were also discovered, but the case remains unsolved.

The D.B. Cooper heist remains the only unsolved airline hijacking in American history, inspiring an annual festival in Ariel, Washington, and numerous cultural productions.
FBI agent Larry Carr secretly posted on the DropZone website, sharing previously unknown information, before being unmasked by Cooper enthusiasts.
The incident led to significant security changes in air travel, including mandatory metal detectors and airline rights to search bags.
Boeing 727s were retrofitted with a 'Cooper Vane' to prevent mid-flight operation of the aft staircase, a direct legacy of the hijacking.