The most mysterious hijacker: who is D. B. Cooper?

Because he committed a crime professionally enough only to be in movies, and the police never found him dead or alive.

Around 4 pm on November 24, 1971, a mysterious man named himself Dan Cooper entered Portland International Airport and bought a one-way ticket to Seattle-Tacoma Airport for $20. The ticket was for a flight leaving in half an hour and had purchased aisle seat 18C. There were thirty-six different people on the plane that day, including Dan Cooper. These included pilot William Scott, flight engineer H.E Anderson, and flight attendants Florence Schaffner and Tina Mucklow.

According to eyewitness accounts, Dan Cooper was a middle-aged white man with no distinctive accents, dressed in an elegant suit and tie. Because of this appearance, he was like everyone else and never caught anyone's attention when boarding the plane. But shortly after the plane took off, he made a move that no one would easily forget and handed the flight attendant Florence Schaffner a note. Florence Schaffner didn't even bother to read the note because she thought it was a middle-aged man hitting on her again and putting it in her pocket. But after D.B. Cooper realized that the flight attendant had not read the note, he summoned the woman and said that it would be much better for his safety and for everyone's safety if she read the note. He also added that he had a bomb in his suitcase and was ready to detonate it.

Florence Schaffner quickly rushed to the aircraft's galley and showed the note to her fellow flight attendant, Tina Mucklow. Then they both ran to the pilot. Ultimately, this mysterious note also panicked the pilot, and the man immediately decided to contact air traffic control. Traffic control likewise immediately notified Seattle police. Ultimately, the decision was to comply with all of Dan Cooper's wishes. A highly intelligent man, Cooper would leave nothing behind to make sure he wouldn't get into trouble in the future. Therefore, he asked the flight attendant to return the note. Although the full version of this note was never seen, according to Florence Schaffner and other witnesses, this handwritten note demanded $200,000 and two sets of parachutes. Additionally, Cooper requested that these requests be delivered upon arrival at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. He made it very clear that if they did not comply with these demands, he would blow up the plane. Moreover, to prove how serious he was, he opened his suitcase and showed the flight attendants the sticks of dynamite.

According to D.B. Cooper's plan, the plane had to stay in the air until the money and parachutes were ready. After the pilot received the message from the police, he announced over the intercom that the plane would circle before landing due to a mechanical problem. Thus, most of the passengers were unaware of the kidnapping and everything was going very strangely as there was no panic situation. But for Cooper, everything was very clear and perfectly planned. He wanted $200,000 in $20 bills that weighed exactly nine kilograms. In addition, the serial numbers of the coins would never be sequential, they would be completely mixed. The FBI complied with Cooper's request, but they devised a plan of their own, making sure that the code number of each banknote began with the letter L. It was also predetermined which parachute he wanted for Cooper. He certainly did not want air force parachutes, he wanted civilian parachutes. While Dan Cooper never revealed exactly what kind of escape plan he had, the authorities predicted how he would escape, since he requested two parachutes. The reason he wanted two parachutes was probably that he was taking a hostage with him. Because of this, no one dared to risk the hostage's life by giving Cooper a fake parachute. Even that showed how perfectly D.B. Cooper had planned.

By 5:24 p.m. both the money and the parachutes had been prepared and they were now to be handed over to Cooper. Cooper's wishes, of course, were not over. He also wanted to make sure no one was approaching the plane. A poor airline employee went to the plane in a company vehicle and handed over the requested items to flight attendant Tina Mucklow. After all, the demands were met, Cooper released 36 passengers and flight attendant Florence Schaffner. But the lives of the other flight attendant, Tina Mucklow, and the three men in the cockpit were still in danger. Cooper chose this flight not only for its location but also because of the type of jet used. He knew a lot about the Boeing 727-100. He ordered the pilot to stay below an altitude of 10,000 feet and maintain airspeed below 150 knots. An experienced parachutist could easily dive at 150 knots. The jet was light and would have no problem flying at such a slow speed through dense air at 10,000 feet. Cooper had told the crew that he wanted to go to Mexico City. The pilot explained that at the altitude and airspeed he wanted to travel, the jet would not be able to travel more than 1,000 miles, even with 52,000 gallons of fuel. So they agreed to find a mid-stop to refuel in Reno, Nevada. Before leaving Seattle, Cooper ordered the jet to refuel. He knew that the Boeing 727-100 could handle 4,000 gallons of fuel per minute. Captain Scott and Cooper agreed on a low-altitude route called Vector 23. This route allowed the jet to fly safely west of the mountains, even at the low altitude, Cooper had requested. After all flight details were understood, the plane took off at 19:46.

After takeoff, Dan Cooper ordered the flight attendant and the rest of the crew to stay in the cockpit. At that time, there were no peepholes or cameras installed in the cockpit door. So the crew had no idea what Cooper was doing. At 8 pm, a red light alerted the team that a door was open. Scott asked Cooper over the intercom if there was anything they could do for him. Cooper gives an angry “No!” replied with. That's "No", It was the last word heard from Cooper. At 10:15 p.m. the plane landed in Reno, Nevada. The pilot spoke to Cooper on the intercom, and when he got no response, he opened the cockpit door. Of course, the cabin was empty. Cooper was gone with the money and all his belongings. The only item left was the second parachute. Afterward, no one heard from Cooper again. Despite all the research, it could not be proven whether the man died during the jump. The harsh weather that night prevented police from searching the grounds until the next day. On Thanksgiving 1971 and for several weeks after, police conducted an extensive search for any traces of the hijacker or parachute. Although they didn't think that was his real name, they still went through the criminal records for the name Dan Cooper.

In Oregon, A man named Cooper was found and caught the attention of the police as a suspect. Although this man was proven not guilty in a short time, a careless member of the press reported that D.B. for the hijacker. Cooper used the name, and when this mistake was soon repeated by other news channels, the man's name was D.B. Cooper remained in shape. A hijacking charge was filed against this mystery man and the case was never closed. On February 10, 1980, an eight-year-old boy found bundles of $20 bills in the Columbia River with serial numbers matching the ones Cooper had picked up. Some people believed that this evidence helped support the theory that Cooper did not survive. After these coins were found, the area started to be explored again. But on May 18, 1980, St. Helens destroyed all remaining (if any) clues to the Cooper case. Over the years, many have admitted to being Dan Cooper. The FBI has quietly reviewed some of these cases but has yet to find anything useful.

In August 2011, Marla Cooper claimed that Dan Cooper was her uncle, L.D. Cooper. Marla had claimed to have overheard a conversation saying that all their money problems were over and they had missed a plane. She also explained that they never had any money because she lost her uncle while skydiving. While many have identified Dan Cooper as one of his long-lost relatives, Marla Cooper's claims seemed the closest to the truth. In July 2016, the FBI officially announced that D.B. Cooper closed the investigation. What happened to Cooper was never found. The investigators' leading theory was that Cooper didn't actually survive the jump. Although his extensive knowledge of the aircraft's systems initially convinced police that he was a professional paratrooper, they have since concluded that in such weather conditions, it is dangerous to jump in casual work clothes on a brutal slope of the Washington wilderness in midwinter. The fact that the matching bag of the ransom money was left in the creek further supported the theory that he did not survive. And so, despite 45 years of clues and theories, the real name and survival of America's most famous hijacker remained a mystery.