He Hijacked a Plane, Jumped With $200,000... And Was Never Seen Again D.B. Cooper Mystery

On November 24, 1971 (Thanksgiving Eve), a man calling himself Dan Cooper bought a one-way ticket from Portland to Seattle for $18.52. Thirty minutes later, he hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 with a bomb, demanded $200,000 in cash and four parachutes, and then did the unthinkable: he jumped out of the plane mid-flight over Washington State and was never seen again.
This is the story of D.B. Cooper—the only unsolved hijacking in United States history.
🛫 THE HIJACKING TIMELINE:

November 24, 1971, 2:50 PM: "Dan Cooper" boards Northwest Orient Flight 305 in Portland
Seat 18-E, Boeing 727, destination Seattle
Shortly after takeoff: Hands note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner
Note reads: "I have a bomb. You are being hijacked."
Shows briefcase with red cylinders, wires, battery (appears to be bomb)
Demands: $200,000 in $20 bills + 4 parachutes
5:39 PM: Plane lands in Seattle, ransom delivered
All 36 passengers released safely
7:40 PM: Takes off again toward Mexico with 4 crew members
Orders: Fly below 10,000 feet, under 200 knots, landing gear down
8:13 PM: Cooper jumps from rear airstair with money and parachute
Location: Somewhere over southwestern Washington (near Ariel, WA)
Conditions: Night, freezing rain, zero visibility, -7°F with wind chill

📍 LOCATION: Portland International Airport (Oregon) → Seattle-Tacoma Airport (Washington) → Jump zone over southwestern Washington near Oregon border
💰 THE MONEY: $200,000 in twenty dollar bills (10,000 bills) - equivalent to $1.5 million today. FBI recorded every serial number.
🪂 THE JUMP: Cooper parachuted from a Boeing 727 traveling at ~200 mph, 10,000 feet altitude, in complete darkness during a freezing rainstorm. He wore only a business suit. No survival gear. This jump, under these conditions, is considered nearly suicidal by experienced skydivers.
🔍 THE EVIDENCE:
Left behind on plane:

Black clip-on JC Penney tie
Mother-of-pearl tie clip
8 cigarette butts
2 of the 4 parachutes
66 fingerprints (never matched to anyone)

Found in 1980:

$5,800 of the ransom money discovered by 8-year-old Brian Ingram on Columbia River beach (Tena Bar, Washington)
Bills were decayed, damaged, compressed
Only confirmed ransom money ever recovered
Raises question: where is the other $194,200?

🔎 TOP SUSPECTS:
Richard McCoy Jr. (STRONGEST SUSPECT):

April 1972: Hijacked United Airlines flight (5 months after Cooper)
Same method: bomb threat, parachutes, money, jumped over Utah
Former Green Beret, helicopter pilot, explosives expert
Caught, convicted, escaped prison 1974, killed by FBI 1974
2023 BOMBSHELL: His children found modified parachute matching Cooper's on family property + skydiving logbook showing practice jumps before both hijackings
Many now believe McCoy = Cooper

Robert Rackstraw:

Former Army pilot and explosives expert
Investigated multiple times, never charged
Died 2019

Kenneth Christiansen:

Northwest Orient flight attendant & mechanic
Former WWII paratrooper
Brother claimed Kenneth was Cooper after his 1994 death

Duane Weber:

Told wife on deathbed: "I am Dan Cooper"
Had unexplained injuries consistent with rough landing
Never confirmed

✈️ HOW COOPER CHANGED AVIATION:

Metal detectors installed at all US airports
Mandatory baggage screening implemented
Cash-paying passengers flagged for extra screening
"Cooper Vane" invented: prevents aft airstair from opening mid-flight
All Boeing 727s retrofitted with Cooper vanes
Made copycat hijackings nearly impossible

🎬 CULTURAL IMPACT:

HBO documentary "The Mystery of D.B. Cooper" (2017)
1981 film "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper"
Inspired songs, books, TV episodes
Annual D.B. Cooper Day celebrations in Pacific Northwest
Became American folk hero/anti-establishment icon
r/DBCooper subreddit with thousands of members

📊 FBI INVESTIGATION:

Operation NORJAK (Northwest Hijacking)
1,000+ suspects investigated over 45 years
Case officially suspended 2016 (can be reopened with new evidence)
2023: McCoy family evidence under review
2025: New FBI files released to public

❓ THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:

Did Cooper survive the jump?
Who was he really?
Where is the rest of the money?
Why has NO money ever circulated (FBI tracked all serial numbers)?
How did $5,800 end up 20 miles from jump zone?
Was Richard McCoy actually D.B. Cooper?

💭 THE THEORIES:
🔹 Died on impact or shortly after (most likely per FBI)
🔹 Survived, hid money, lived anonymously rest of life
🔹 Richard McCoy pulled off both hijackings
🔹 Money buried/hidden in forest, never recovered
🔹 Drowned in Columbia River, body never found
🔔 This case can still be solved! If you have information:

FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
Submit tips: tips.fbi.gov

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