For decades, the case of America's most famous skyjacking has gone unsolved.
Given the lack of hard evidence, reliance on eyewitness testimony, and James Bond-style
parachute escape, it's not surprising the mystery of D.B.
Cooper has become an American legend.
Will the identity of this infamous pirate of the skies ever be unmasked?
On November 24, 1971 - the day before Thanksgiving - a man paid cash for a ticket on Northwest
Orient Airlines Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle.
The plane was a Boeing 727 with stairs at the back of the plane… this would prove
important later.
He used the name "Dan Cooper," which later became "D.B.
Cooper" due to a media miscommunication.
Based on eyewitness testimony, Cooper was in his 40s, approximately 5'10" to 6' tall,
and weighed 180 pounds with dark hair.
He wore a black suit, white shirt, narrow black clip-on tie with tie clip, a black overcoat,
and dress shoes, and was carrying an attaché case.
Cooper ordered a bourbon and soda before takeoff from a flight attendant and later, handed
her a note written in all caps.
It read,
"I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE.
I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY.
I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME.
YOU ARE BEING HIJACKED."
He opened his attaché case to reveal wires and colored sticks, then dictated another
note demanding four parachutes and $200,000 in $20 bills.
When the plane landed in Seattle, Cooper exchanged the passengers for the parachutes and money,
forcing the crew to remain on the plane with him.
They took off once more, set a course for Mexico, and at a little past 8 p.m.,Cooper
jumped from the plane using those back stairs into a remote wilderness area somewhere between
Seattle and their refueling stop in Reno - never to be seen again.
The strangest thing about D.B. Cooper's case is that no one can even agree on whether or
not he could have survived his nighttime jump into the wilderness.
Most evidence suggests he died, as there were a lot of things working against him.
He was more appropriately dressed for a wedding than a skydive and wintertime survival in
the western wilderness.
He missed key details about the equipment he was given, including the fact that his
reserve parachute was a training verison, and was sewn shut.
And that parachute?
There was no way for him to steer.
FBI Special Agent Larry Carr put it this way:
"No experienced parachutist would have jumped in the pitch-black night, in the rain, with
a 200-mile-an-hour wind in his face, wearing loafers and a trench coat.
It was simply too risky."
It's no secret that some people just don't care about risk, but perhaps most telling
is that some of the ransom money was recovered in 1980.
A young boy found a package of rotting $20 bills along the Columbia River near Vancouver,
which many believe is the final piece of evidence that he died making his escape.
If Cooper did land safely and is still alive, he'd be in his late 80s or early 90s today.
Investigators do have a major piece of evidence: Cooper's black, clip-on tie, removed before
he jumped.
DNA analysis done in 2007 revealed three different DNA samples, but there's no way of knowing
if any belonged to Cooper.
A match has never been found, and even if was, it's not enough evidence to positively
identify and convict the hijacker.
In 2017, a group called Citizen Sleuths ran a full-scale analysis of the tie using an
electron microscope that turned up over 100,000 particles, including rare earth elements and
other corrosion-resistant metals.
That's led to the belief Cooper may have worked in the aerospace or electronics industries.
The FBI has investigated more than 1,000 suspects, some more serious than others.
One of the higher-profile suspects in the case was Richard Floyd McCoy, who was arrested
by the FBI for a similar airplane hijacking just months after D.B. Cooper's flight.
McCoy later died in a gunfight with federal authorities, and was eliminated as a suspect
for the D.B.
Cooper case based mostly on eyewitness descriptions of the hijacker.
Other suspects were brought to the public's attention by relatives.
In 2011, a woman named Marla Cooper publicly suggested her uncle was actually D.B.
Cooper.
Lynn Doyle Cooper, who went by "LD", was a Korean war veteran who his niece says was
involved in a strange Thanksgiving plot and an "accident" in 1971.
DNA evidence failed to connect the dots.
Kenneth Christiansen became a suspect after his brother, Lyle, made the connection between
Cooper and his brother after watching an episode of Unsolved Mysteries and seeing the composite
sketch of Cooper.
Not long before his death, Kenneth hinted that there was something he needed to confess,
but actual evidence is, unfortunately, completely lacking.
On July 12, 2016, the FBI formally closed the D.B.
Cooper case after what it called
"one of the longest and most exhaustive investigations in our history."
The Bureau stated it had followed all credible leads and evidence but was unable to positively
identify D.B.
Cooper or his whereabouts.
But, it wasn't over.
In 2018, D.B.
Cooper was in the headlines again.
This time, a team of investigators announced that the real Cooper was Vietnam veteran Robert
Rackstraw.
Not only was Rackstraw former Special Forces, but he had a ton of relevant work experience
and had used at least 22 aliases through the years.
Their main piece of evidence was a handful of typewritten letters sent to different newspapers
back in the day, which they said could be decoded into confessions.
The team, which included a number of former FBI agents, also claimed the Bureau had protected
Rackstraw because he knew too many government secrets.
Rackstraw still lives in San Francisco, and when asked about the allegations, this happened:
"If you're DB Cooper the world would want to know your story.”
“Sure they would.
So would the FBI."
Is it settled?
You decide.