The particulars of D.B. Cooper's clever airborne crime and daredevil getaway have been pondered, picked over and recapitulated for three decades now.

In 1971, D.B. Cooper hijacked and threatened to blow up an airliner, extorted $200,000 from its owner, Northwest Orient, then leaped from the airborne 727 with 21 pounds of $20 bills strapped to his torso.

He was never seen again—dead or alive. The crime was perfect if he lived, perfectly crazy if he didn't.

In either case, D.B. Cooper's nom de crime—no one knows his real name—may be the most recognized alias among western felons since Jack the Ripper.

Everyone from dour G-men to giddy amateur sleuths have pored over the details, hoping to wheedle a resolution out of some overlooked aspect, as though a clue concealed in the holdup's hieroglyph of facts might lead to an a-ha!, a la Inspector Clouseau.

Yet the case remains unsolved more than 30 years later, and D. B. Cooper has become the Bigfoot of crime, evading one of the most extensive and expensive American manhunts of the 20th century. The whereabouts of the man (or his remains) is one of the great crime mysteries of our time.

Of course, the annals of wrongdoing are stuffed with titillating unsolved cases, from London's notorious ripper in the 1880s to the Black Dahlia murder of an aspiring actress in Los Angeles in 1947 to the befuddling murder—and muddled investigation—of little Jon Benet Ramsey in 1997 in Boulder, Colo.

But D.B. Cooper's crime was different. First, no innocent bystander was injured, although law enforcers argue that he put several dozen lives at risk.

There was modest collateral damage to Northwest Orient's bottom line, and the FBI's swollen ego was bruised to the bone. Cooper pulled his buccaneering swipe in the twilight of the 47-year tenure of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who died not long after the hijacking. The director no doubt went to his grave with teeth gritted over his agency's inability, in this case, to get their man.

source

I love this story. It's amazing how just one person could have pulled this off.

indeed. fascinating to read. i like to think he did a robin hood, and gave the money to the needy. i doubt it's true, but i can think it.

On February 13, 1980, $5,800 (in bundles of $20 bills) of the ransom money was found by a family on a picnic five miles northwest of Vancouver, Washington on the banks of the Columbia River.

Following three similar (but less successful) hijackings in 1972, the Federal Aviation Administration required that all Boeing 727 aircraft be fitted with a device known as the "Cooper Vane", a mechanical aerodynamic wedge that prevents the rear stairway from being lowered in flight.

D. B. Cooper

well then, that should solve that problem now shouldn't it?

I've been fascinated with this story for a long time. Few things are as interesting to hear about as D.B. Cooper is. I think what happened to him is better to remain a mystery to never be solved, although it still would be extremely interesting if it was.

i prefer to think that he's relaxing in his Caribbean villa.

this is one of the most interesting stories of the 20th century.

yah i read about this story also it fascinates me. in a fictional story about bigfoot a cryptozoologists son goes with hisv father in washington by mt. st. helens looking for bigfoot and they find this cabin that d.b. cooper lives in with a secret tunnel leading to a pack of sasquatchs and he admits we stole the money and hijacked the plane he said he did it because his son ( aint that kind ) had cancer and he wanted a cure and someone in mexico was selling it for $20,000.



They found $5,800 becayse he threw most of it away because his son died before he could get the medicine to cure him.

Whoa....

Where'd you read this??

any chance you could provide a link to this 'fascinating' info? just wondering...

thing that worries me about making myself disappear, is that once I've succeeded, there's nothing to stop anyone from taking everything I've secreted away and making sure I stay gone for good.

If he did get away, nothing stopping anyone from shooting him and taking the money off his body.

You're scaring me...

"fictional"

There is a forum on a web site that has extensive information and misinformation. I need the help of anyone who is computer astute to help me ---I am not sure how to tell you to get there or if I can. It is at Sitcoms Online Message Board - D.B. Cooper. I know you go to Unsolved Mysteries and then scroll down to D.B. Cooper. I have been posting there, but I am getting slaughtered by some guys. One of them has deleted many of his post so you will have a hard time following the story. If anyone wants to discuss Cooper and Duane L. Weber AKA Dan Cooper I will be glad to answer your question here.

There is a forum on a web site that has extensive information and misinformation. I need the help of anyone who is computer astute to help me ---I am not sure how to tell you to get there or if I can. It is at Sitcoms Online Message Board - D.B. Cooper. I know you go to Unsolved Mysteries and then scroll down to D.B. Cooper. I have been posting there, but I am getting slaughtered by some guys. One of them has deleted many of his post so you will have a hard time following the story. If anyone wants to discuss Cooper and Duane L. Weber AKA Dan Cooper I will be glad to answer your question here.