Three members of the hijacked plane. Credit: PA Images
Nearly 45 years ago, on the eve of Thanksgiving, a man walked into Portland International Airport carrying a black suitcase. He bought a plane ticket to Seattle under the name 'Dan Cooper' and boarded the plane.
At one point, he slipped a note to an air stewardess and told her he had a bomb.
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What happened during that flight (and afterwards) has mystified the FBI, conspiracy theorists and just about everyone else who's ever come in contact with the story since.
So much so that now, after 45 years, the FBI has officially closed the case on the infamous 'D.B. Cooper' and deemed it unsolvable.
But what the fuck happened?! Who was this guy?
Well, commonly he's known as D.B. Cooper. A news media miscommunication meant that the name 'Dan Cooper' has faded into history.
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While sat on Flight 305 to Seattle, D.B. Cooper lit a cigarette and ordered bourbon and soda. Eye-witnesses claim that he was wearing a dark suit, sunglasses, a black, lightweight raincoat and a neatly pressed white shirt.
Florence Schaffner, a flight attendant, was busying herself nearby when he called her over and passed her a note. Assuming that it was just another creepy guy's phone number, she pocketed it politely and turned to leave. At this point, Cooper leaned over and said: "Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb."
We'll never know what was exactly written on the note, as Cooper asked for it back, but it suggested that he had a bomb and that the young fight attendant should sit next to him. She obliged.
Who the hell was D.B. Cooper?
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Quietly, she asked him if she could see the bomb. He opened up his black suitcase and she glimpsed eight red cylinders attached to wires (coated with red insulation), and a large cylindrical battery. At this point, you can probably begin to imagine how panicked she felt. At this point in time, airlines didn't search passengers and their bags.
He demanded $200,000, four parachutes and a fuel truck waiting for the plane at Seattle airport to refuel once they arrived. This meticulous planning shone through in every single step of Cooper's plan - he knew exactly what he was doing. He asked for four parachutes because he knew that this would suggest that he may be taking hostages, therefore parachutes would not be tampered with.
The authorities complied with all of his demands. They arrived at Seattle and the money and parachutes were handed over. Cooper let the hostages go - except for the flight crew that is. He told them to head towards Mexico, but the crew explained that they'd need to refuel in Nevada. Agreeing, he then told them to go into the cockpit, close the door and stay there.
Once they landed in Nevada, authorities surrounded the plane, but Cooper was gone.
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The thing is, the conditions were stormy. It was pitch black. Cooper was wearing shitty shoes and a suit, so could he really have survived the jump into the unknown? He wouldn't have had a clue where he was landing.
These are the questions that have plagued people for over 40 years.
In 1980, an eight-year-old kid called Brian Ingram was playing at Columbia River when he stumbled across around $5,000 in cash. It turns out this money was some of the ransom money, confirmed by the FBI.
All of the notes had their serial numbers taken down, but no-one's ever found a trace of them - anywhere. Weird, right?!
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You can read loads into the story and it is really fascinating. The easiest thing to say is that he died, but where did the rest of the cash go? Where's his body? Crazy.
Sadly, we'll probably never know. I prefer to think that D.B. Cooper is sitting on a beach somewhere, enjoying the rewards of a perfect crime.
What's life without a bit of mystery, ey?
Words by Mel Ramsay
Featured Image Credit:
Topics: D.B Cooper, FBI