The DB Cooper hijacking case is an unsolved mystery that began on November 24, 1971, when a man named Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle. Cooper, dressed in a business suit, handed a flight attendant a note claiming he had a bomb and demanded $200,000, four parachutes, and a fuel truck ready to refuel the plane upon landing. The airline's president, Donald Nyrop, decided to comply with Cooper's demands to avoid any harm to the passengers and crew.
After the plane landed at Seattle's airport, Cooper released all the passengers and two flight attendants, except for one, Tina Mucklow. The plane then took off again, and Cooper jumped out of the plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Despite an extensive search, Cooper was never found, and the FBI investigation was unable to determine his true identity.
Over the years, several suspects have been identified, including Richard McCoy and Robert Rackstraw, but neither was proven to be Cooper. The case remains one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries in American history, with many questions still unanswered, including Cooper's true identity, his fate after the jump, and what happened to the remaining $194,200 of the ransom money.
The case has sparked many theories and speculations, including the possibility that Cooper may have survived the jump and escaped with the money. The FBI officially closed the case in 2016, but the mystery of DB Cooper continues to fascinate the public, inspiring books, documentaries, and numerous investigations.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. On November 24, 1971, a Northwest Orient Airlines flight took off from Portland, Oregon.
2. The flight was carrying 36 passengers and 6 crew members.
3. A man named D.B. Cooper hijacked the plane.
4. Cooper was dressed in a business suit, white shirt, and black pants.
5. He was in his mid-40s and sat in the last row of the plane, seat number 18E.
6. Cooper handed a note to air hostess Florence Schaffner, claiming to have a bomb.
7. The note demanded $200,000 in cash, four parachutes, and a fuel truck ready to refuel the plane.
8. The plane circled around Seattle for three hours while the demands were being met.
9. Cooper released the passengers and flight attendants, except for Tina Mucklow, and took off again with the pilots.
10. Cooper jumped out of the plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet over southwestern Washington state.
11. He used two parachutes to jump, one strapped in front and one behind.
12. The FBI investigated the hijacking and searched for Cooper, but he was never found.
13. In 1979, a pilot named Tom Bohan contacted the FBI and provided information that helped narrow down the search area.
14. An 8-year-old boy found $3,000 of the ransom money on the bank of the Columbia River in 1979.
15. The FBI searched the area but couldn't find any other evidence or Cooper's body.
16. The FBI released a list of over 800 suspects, but none were confirmed to be Cooper.
17. Two suspects, Richard McCoy and Robert Rackstraw, were investigated, but neither was confirmed to be Cooper.
18. In 2016, the FBI closed the case, but the mystery of D.B. Cooper's identity and fate remains unsolved.