Mystery of DB Cooper | Man who Vanished in the Sky! | Dhruv Rathee

Dhruv Rathee・2 minutes read

A man named D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane in 1971, demanding money and parachutes before jumping out over Washington State, evading capture despite a 45-year investigation. Despite various suspects and searches, Cooper's fate remains a mystery to this day.

Insights

  • D.B. Cooper successfully hijacked a plane in 1971, extorted money and parachutes, then disappeared after parachuting out, evading capture despite a 45-year FBI investigation.
  • Tina Mucklow, an air hostess, played a crucial role in ensuring the safety of passengers during the hijacking, showcasing the importance of calm and skilled individuals in crisis situations.

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Recent questions

  • Who was D.B. Cooper?

    A man who hijacked a plane in 1971.

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Summary

00:00

Unsolved Mystery: D.B. Cooper's Hijacking and Disappearance

  • On 24th November, 1971, a Northwest Orient Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle was hijacked by a man named D.B. Cooper, who demanded $200,000 in cash and 4 parachutes.
  • Cooper, disguised as a businessman, revealed his bomb threat to an air hostess, Florence Schaffner, and showed her the bomb in his briefcase, leading to his demands for money and parachutes.
  • The airline's president, Donald Nairob, decided to comply with Cooper's demands to protect the airline's reputation, coordinating with the FBI and a Seattle bank to arrange the money.
  • The flight circled Seattle for 3 hours to gather the ransom, with passengers unaware of the hijacking due to the crew's discretion and the pilots' announcement of minor technical difficulties.
  • Cooper received the money and parachutes upon landing, allowed the passengers and most crew to leave, and directed the pilots towards Mexico City, instructing them on altitude, speed, and wing position.
  • Cooper, using the alias Dan Cooper, jumped from the plane with the money and parachutes over Washington State, with the FBI unable to locate him despite a 45-year investigation.
  • Tina Mucklow, an air hostess, played a crucial role in keeping Cooper calm and ensuring no harm came to passengers during the hijacking, earning her the title of the hijack's hero.
  • The name "DB Cooper" originated from a reporter's mishearing of "Dan Cooper," showcasing the cognitive bias of anchoring and the difficulty in correcting misinformation.
  • Despite initial beliefs that Cooper couldn't have survived the jump due to harsh conditions, subsequent copycat hijackings with successful jumps raised doubts about his fate.
  • The FBI's search for Cooper focused on the area near Lake Merwin in Washington State, using the serial numbers of the ransom money to track any potential leads.

15:07

Search for D.B. Cooper: Clues and Suspects

  • Door-to-door searches conducted in the area where Cooper could have landed, with police knocking on farmhouses to investigate.
  • Petrol boats and a company's submarine used in the search on Lake Mervin and Lake Yale, with a 200 ft underwater search in Lake Mervin.
  • Investigators published serial numbers of notes in the local newspaper, offering $1,000 for finding a note with those numbers, which remained unclaimed for 3 years.
  • Pilot Tom Bohan contacted the FBI in 1979, suggesting Cooper's landing near the Washougal River drainage area, leading to the discovery of $20 notes by an 8-year-old boy.
  • FBI confirmed the found money was Cooper's, totaling $5,800, supporting Tom's hypothesis of Cooper's landing location near the Washougal River.
  • FBI searched the area but found no body or parachute pieces, with agent Richard Tosaw speculating Cooper drowned in the river.
  • Tie clip left behind by Cooper analyzed in 2009, revealing microscopic particles suggesting Cooper worked in a chemical or metal manufacturing plant, possibly Boeing.
  • Various suspects considered, including Richard McCoy and Robert Rackstraw, with McCoy's alibi disproving his involvement and Rackstraw remaining a suspect despite lack of substantial evidence.
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