The Perfect Crime at 10,000 Feet
On November 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle. Wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, he handed a flight attendant a note claiming he had a bomb in his briefcase. What followed became the only unsolved air piracy in commercial aviation history. Cooper demanded $200,000 in cash (equivalent to $1.3 million today) and four parachutes.
The Jump into Oblivion
After releasing the passengers in Seattle and refueling, the plane took off again, heading for Mexico City. Somewhere over the dense forests of southwestern Washington, in the middle of a stormy night, Cooper lowered the rear airstair and parachuted into the pitch-black void. He took the money, but he left behind a mystery that has obsessed the FBI for over 50 years.
- The Evidence: In 1980, a young boy found a rotting package containing $5,800 of the ransom money on the banks of the Columbia River. The rest has never been seen.
- The Suspects: Over 800 suspects were considered. Richard McCoy, who pulled a similar heist months later, was a strong candidate but had an alibi. Robert Rackstraw, a former black ops pilot, was another favorite of amateur sleuths.
- The Fate: Did Cooper survive the jump? He leaped into a freezing rainstorm wearing only a business suit and loafers, with a parachute that couldn’t be steered. Many experts believe he buried himself on impact, but no body was ever found.
The Legacy: In 2016, the FBI officially closed the case, stating resources were better spent elsewhere. D.B. Cooper remains a ghost, a folk hero to some and a villain to others, the man who beat the system and vanished into thin air.