The Curious Case of Dan Cooper. dan cooper story

“After one of the longest and most thorough investigations in the history of the FBI, on July 8, 2016, the decision was made to redirect resources allocated to the case Dan Cooper to focus on other investigative tasks, ”the FBI website said in a statement.

As noted in the statement of the department, for 45 years a huge amount of various operational information has been processed, but it has not been possible to identify the criminal.

Passenger with a bomb in his briefcase

On November 24, a man who checked in as Dan B. Cooper boarded a Northwest Airlines flight at Portland Airport.

In the cabin, he took seat 18C, and shortly after takeoff he handed a note to a young flight attendant, Florence Shafner. The girl, thinking that the man decided to meet her, put the note in her pocket, but the passenger said: “Miss, you better look at the note. I have a bomb."

The note read: “I have a bomb in my briefcase. I use it if I deem it necessary. I want you to sit next to me. Your plane has been hijacked."

The note also contained demands for $200,000 in unmarked twenty-dollar bills and two sets of parachutes.

To prove the seriousness of his intentions, Dan B. Cooper opened his briefcase, in which the stewardess saw red cylinders, a large battery and wires, which convinced her that the bomb was real.

$200,000 and parachutes to boot

For the sake of saving the lives of passengers and crew members, the authorities decided to comply with the requirements of the invader.

The plane landed in international airport Seattle-Tacoma, near Seattle, Washington.

An employee delivered $200,000 and parachutes through a door at the rear of the plane. Cooper then let all the passengers and the stewardess go. Shafner. The pilot, second stewardess, co-pilot and flight engineer remained on board.

It was not possible to detain Cooper during the landing in Seattle. After refueling, the plane took off and headed for Mexico. Cooper then ordered the second flight attendant, who remained in the cabin, to go to the flight deck and stay there.

Jumped and disappeared

After some time, the crew, according to the readings of the instruments, discovered that Cooper had opened the tail door of the aircraft. The hijacker bailed out and disappeared forever.

It is assumed that the jump was made over southwestern part state of Washington. While Cooper bailed out, the plane was passing through an area of ​​severe storm, shielded from any light sources from the ground by a cover of clouds. The parachutist could not be traced.

The Boeing returned safely to Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The FBI agents who examined the plane found no evidence that could identify the perpetrator.

A search in the proposed landing area also turned up nothing. In the hands of the police was only a sketch of the hijacker, compiled from the words of passengers and crew members.

Photofit of the hijacker, compiled from the words of passengers and crew members. Photo: Reuters

Three weeks after the hijacking, the Los Angeles Times received a letter. The following was written in it:

“I’m not a modern-day Robin Hood at all. Unfortunately, I only have fourteen months left to live. The hijacking was the fastest and most profitable way for me to secure last days own life. I didn't rob an airline because I thought it was romantic or heroic. I would never take such a huge risk for such stupidity. I do not condemn people who hate me for my act, nor do I condemn those who would like to see me caught and punished, especially since this will never happen. I had no doubt that I would not be caught. I have already flown several times on various routes. I'm not going to lie low in some old, lost town in the wilderness. And don't think I'm a psychopath: I haven't even received a parking ticket in my life."

Money in the river as proof of death

It is believed that this letter was not written by Cooper himself, but by a certain joker. However, it was also not possible to install the joker.

According to the main version of the special services, Dan B. Cooper did not survive the jump, crashing on landing. In 1980 father and son Harold And Brian Ingram found on the banks of the Columbia River, northwest of Portland, a stack of old, faded twenty-dollar bills, supposedly carried by the current from above, from the north. The audit showed that this money is indeed part of the ransom issued to the hijacker.

These dollars are the strongest evidence to date that the hijacker known as Dan B. Cooper died. The remains of Mr. Cooper, as well as any other traces, could not be found.

These dollars are the strongest evidence to date that the hijacker known as Dan B. Cooper died. Photo: Reuters

The guitar strap did not reveal the secret

Five years ago, in 2011, a certain Marla Wynn Cooper gave the FBI a leather guitar strap made by her uncle. Ms. Cooper believed her uncle was the mysterious Boeing hijacker.

Marla Wynn Cooper said that her uncle in last time saw in 1972, but he, according to her, lived happily for more than a quarter of a century, having died in 1999.

The strap provided by the woman, however, turned out to be unsuitable for research, so to confirm or deny new version did not succeed.

Over the past 45 years, car thief Cooper has become a cultural phenomenon in the US. His name and history are mentioned in many books, films and series. The authors of some of them offer their own options for unraveling the mystery of this crime.

All this, however, has nothing to do with reality. Federal Bureau U.S. investigation decided that it was not appropriate for his agents to continue to look like the characters in The X-Files. The riddle of Mr. Cooper is finally given into the hands of amateur enthusiasts. Perhaps they will have better luck.

— What is your name, sir?
— Dan Cooper The man replies and smiles.

A few passengers go to the gangway "Boeing 727-100".
— Welcome aboard Norfwest Orient Airlines! - A pretty stewardess meets a man with a small briefcase. She looks at the ticket and points to the tail of the plane.
- Thank you. You are very kind,” lifting his dark glasses, he reads the badge on the uniform, “Miss Schaffner.

The ladder is removed, and the voice of the captain is heard in the cabin.
— Dear passengers! Please fasten your seat belts. We'll take off in ten minutes. Outside, the growing and suddenly fading howl of turbines is heard. The crew conducts a control check of the systems. Boeing flaps go up and down. The button to call the stewardess lights up.

“Ah, it’s that man with glasses… If you don’t mind, I’ll go,” one says quietly to the other.
- Yes, sir?
— Miss Schaffner! I will be extremely grateful to you for a glass of bourbon and soda!
— Of course, sir! One minute! The once again growing rumble of the turbines is slowly dying down. The captain contacts the control center and asks for permission to take off. Miss Schaffner returns with a tray.

— Please, sir!
“Thank you Miss… Oh! By the way, this is for you! The man in the suit holds out a small piece of paper. The stewardess smiles flattered. This happens a lot in her life. Often men leave their phone numbers, coordinates, if only she would contact them. Pretty and young Miss Schaffner already has a whole collection of such notes. Here is another one for the collection. She slips the note into her skirt pocket and turns to leave...
"But you'd better read it, miss!" I insist!

In a moment, Schaffner is already sitting next to the man. This is the first time this has happened to her. The note cannot be called a collectible. The man opens the case and shows her a device inside, with colored wires and cylinders. After taking a sip of bourbon, the polite stranger says something quietly to the stewardess. She gets up and somehow perplexedly walks towards the nose of the plane into the cockpit. The ship's captain contacts the control center.

“In Seattle, he needs two hundred thousand dollars, four parachutes and refueling!” Center welcome! How did you understand?
A few minutes passed, and the turbines of the Boeing roared with a strong roar again. But this time the hum didn't stop. The Boeing took off from the runway and took off for Seattle.

The plane circled over the city for a long time, waiting for a signal from below. When local authorities, the FBI and the police were ready to comply, the crew landed the plane at the Seattle airport. Parachutes and a briefcase with money were handed over through the flight attendants. After refueling, the terrorist released all the passengers and one of the flight attendants. Captain Scott, co-pilot, navigator and Miss Schaffner were on board with him. After making sure that the parachutes and money are in order, the man in glasses again lifts the Boeing into the sky. The course is Mexico City.

The button to call the stewardess lights up. She walks to seat 18-C, where the only passenger is studying the diagram. emergency exit.
“Would you be kind enough, miss, to give the pilot the following instructions: our flight altitude is three thousand meters, the speed is not more than three hundred and twenty, and we keep the flaps at an angle of fifteen degrees. I hope you remember... And please, miss, don't try to fool me! I have an altimeter in my pocket and a bomb in my case! Oh, and one more thing: I will ask you, Miss Schaffner, to stay with the crew and in no case leave the cockpit.

When the captain dropped speed and altitude, the pressure in the cabin changed dramatically, indicating a depressurization. The tailgate open light flashed on the dashboard. Pilots armed forces The United States, escorting Flight 305 from Seattle itself, failed to notice the figure of a man jumping from the tail section. I had to constantly turn around and return to the slowly flying passenger aircraft. They did not notice the opening parachute either. By the time Flight 305 landed in Reno, there was no man, no bomb, no money on the plane.

More than 35 years have passed, and people in business suits, glasses and parachutes are still jumping out of planes. The annual parachute festival draws many fans of this terrorist adventurer. Yes, he has fans. The fact is that his plan, thought out to the smallest detail, worked perfectly. Cooper's case is still open. The FBI and the police combed the entire perimeter of the forest - the alleged landing site, combed every house in the nearby cities (he might have been hiding there), combed every millimeter of the Boeing 727-100 for evidence, but to no avail. His made-up name is all the police have. And he just vanished.

Perhaps that is why Americans love Cooper so much. Therefore, restaurants and clubs are named after him. Perhaps that is why the adventures of the man in dark glasses were filmed. Therefore, it is often associated with the American dream. Dan Cooper is a terrorist with the manners of a gentleman.

Gentleman Robber Dan Cooper. How to jump out of a Boeing with $200,000 and leave the FBI with a nose

Dan Cooper seized a passenger liner without firing a shot, demanded a ransom, and having received it, disappeared without a trace - no one has ever seen a man again. This mystery turned out to be too tough for either the police, or the FBI, or enthusiasts who were inspired by history and are still looking for Cooper - apparently not to put him behind bars, but just to look at such an extraordinary person. Onliner.by recalls one of the most amazing crimes of the last century.

A note and a suitcase with a bomb

It all happened on November 24, 1971. A 35-year-old man dressed in a suit, shirt and tie boarded a Boeing-727 of the American airline Northwest Airlines. The ticket for the flight from Portland to Seattle retained his name - Dan Cooper. Just eight minutes after takeoff, he handed the note to a flight attendant.

First, she put the paper in her pocket: the girl thought that business person got bored and wanted to get to know each other. But the passenger insisted on reading it, and the stewardess opened the sheet: the note said that Cooper had a bomb in his briefcase and, if necessary, he would activate it. For persuasiveness, the man opened the suitcase, and the stewardess saw some cylinders connected by red wires. The passenger's demands turned out to be fairly standard - $200,000 in $20 bills, four parachutes (two primary and two spares) and a refueling tank for the aircraft upon arrival in Seattle. The stewardess had no choice but to go to the pilots.

The pilot-in-command contacted the airport in Seattle. Today, events would definitely develop according to a different scenario, but then, in 1971, responsible persons instructed to fulfill all the requirements of the invader. As usual, the crew did not inform the passengers about what was happening, and they continued to enjoy the flight. Perhaps the matter is in the Stockholm syndrome, but the stewardess later spoke of Cooper only in flattering terms: the invader was very calm and polite, did not raise his voice, and left the girl change when paying for the ordered bourbon.

It may seem that $ 200 thousand is not worth such an adventure. But in terms of today's dollars, this amount is approximately $1.2 million. It is also possible that Dan considered that if he had asked for more, the money would have been given less willingly, and he did not envision a forceful scenario at all. As the man drank bourbon, the FBI hurriedly microfilmed all ten thousand twenties.

The plane finally landed at the Seattle airport. Having received money and parachutes, Cooper released all passengers and part of the crew. While the liner was being refueled, the invader initiated the pilots into a further plan: heading southeast at the lowest possible speed and altitude, the landing gear should be released, and the pressurization was turned off in the cockpit, which must be activated at an altitude of about 4 thousand meters. But the plane still had to fly lower, and the final point of the route was the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada.

disappearance

After refueling, the Boeing-727 took off, and with it two F-106 fighters. Cooper told the crew to sit in the cockpit and close the door, and he went out into the empty cabin. Since then, no one has seen the man. Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, the aft door warning light came on on the instrument panel. At what exact moment the invader jumped out of the plane is unknown. The sun had already set (it was about 20:00), the weather deteriorated, and the fighters following the liner did not notice anything.

The plane landed at the airport around 10:00 p.m., and the FBI and the police began to search it. There were practically no traces, except for a few fingerprints: Dan took everything with him, including the suitcase, but left a tie - apparently so as not to interfere during the jump. ABOUT further developments there are several versions. The police investigated the area where Cooper could have landed, but found nothing. In addition, it is not known exactly when the jump was made, because the pilots only knew the time the door was opened, and the man could specially jump out later to throw the FBI off the trail. The feds only compiled a few sketches that, in their opinion, convey Dan's appearance with great accuracy - both the crew and the passengers sitting next to him described a person with similar features.

Search for suspects

Despite the publication of the identikit in major newspapers and the wide publicity without exaggeration of the unique crime, no one recognized the depicted man as his colleague or relative and did not contact the police (or did not do so). Only a few years later, Ross Richardson wrote to the media. He allegedly recognized Dan Cooper as store manager Robert Lepsy. He disappeared without a trace two years before the incident with Boeing and has not been found to date. Richardson is confident that the missing man's resemblance to Cooper is very strong. True, the theory is based only on external similarities. Robert Lepsy had a family, an ordinary job - it does not seem that such a person could decide on the most dangerous criminal case.

Experts were sure that Cooper himself was not a blunder: there was no chaos in his actions, the parachute jump clearly hinted at a military past, and besides, the man knew the controls of the aircraft - for example, how to get to the door in the stern of the ship and where he was open button. There is one more detail. During the flight, Dan accurately identified the area over which the liner was flying at that moment - the city of Tacoma. He also mentioned that a 20-minute drive from local airport located air force base- hardly civilian man would know about it.

Robert Ruckstro, a military pilot and Vietnam veteran, fit the description. A few months before the plane was hijacked, he was discharged from the army for lying about his medals, military rank and education. The FBI became interested in this man, but there was no evidence as such. Nevertheless, Robert is called similar to Dan Cooper: physique, hair color, skin and eyes, small bald patches. Rakstro was also pointed out by one of the passengers of that flight - however, he did this 44 years after the incident, which casts doubt on the accuracy of the experiment.

Rakstro is still alive today: enthusiasts and former FBI agents, for whom the capture of the hijacker of the plane has become something like the meaning of life, have repeatedly asked if Dan Cooper is really standing in front of them. The old man answered reluctantly and evasively all the time - perhaps he was simply taken out with questions, or perhaps he was afraid to say too much. At the same time, he said: “I think Cooper is dead. But he did not die during the jump. We were taught to jump over trees and all that.". Robert also said that the investigators have only "particles of the truth." It is not clear what exactly he meant. A fansite devoted to the mysterious case is convinced that it is Ruckstro who is Dan Cooper.

Another story is curious - on April 7, 1972, Richard McCoy (also with a military background) captured the same Boeing-727 in a similar scenario. He threatened the crew with a pistol and threatened to activate a grenade if they did not give him a parachute and a bag with $ 500,000. As the plane took off, McCoy jumped out the back door of the plane with the money. True, he was arrested two days later. Richard was sentenced to 45 years in prison, but the guy was not an easy one: in 1974 he escaped from prison. However, FBI agents were waiting for him at home. A shootout broke out in which McCoy was killed. Whether this was the real Dan Cooper is unknown, but the first invader left little to no evidence, while the second was quickly caught.

According to one version, Cooper generally crashed upon landing.

In 1995, the widow of World War II veteran Duane Weber stated that her husband said before he died: "I'm Dan Cooper." She didn't understand what it was about, but decided to find out. Later, the woman recalled that Duane once mentioned an old knee injury that he received while jumping from an airplane. The FBI decided to compare the DNA samples to Cooper's tie, but they didn't match. Apparently, Weber finally joked.

New evidence

There were also other suspects - almost all the military, who most likely was Dan Cooper. But there is no concrete evidence that points to a specific person with accuracy. According to one version, Cooper generally crashed upon landing. This theory is supported by several packs of 20-dollar bills found by fishermen in 1980 on the banks of the Columbia River. Experts have established that the banknotes are those that were handed over to the invader. However, recently it turned out that they managed to find the remains of Dan Cooper's parachute. There was no body nearby, which may indicate a successful landing.

Interesting information came from scientists from Citizen Sleuths, who are independently investigating the case. They ran a chemical analysis on the tie Dan Cooper left behind. It turned out that the accessory has traces of rare metals - strontium and cerium sulfide, as well as titanium. They are usually found in the metallurgical and chemical industries. There was speculation that Dan was the project engineer for the supersonic passenger liner Boeing-2707. The financing program was curtailed just in 1971. In such production, all three types of metal found on a tie were found. At the same time, this hypothesis can explain the knowledge of the features of the Boeing-727.

Cooper's crime is considered the only unsolved hijacking case. In 2016, the FBI stopped the investigation, finally reaching a dead end. We will probably never find out who Dan Cooper was. Since then, there have been other attempts to hijack aircraft with a variety of goals and requirements: some ended successfully, others tragically. But such a graceful hijacking, perhaps, was no more.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has closed one of the most mysterious cases in its history, the November 24, 1971 Boeing hijacking.

"After one of the longest and most thorough investigations in the history of the FBI, on July 8, 2016, the decision was made to redirect resources allocated to the Dan Cooper case to focus on other investigative tasks," the FBI website said in a statement.

As noted in the statement of the department, for 45 years a huge amount of various operational information has been processed, but it has not been possible to identify the criminal.

The story, which to this day attracts the attention of lovers of secrets and mysteries, began in 1971, on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Passenger with a bomb in his briefcase

On November 24, a man who checked in as Dan B. Cooper boarded a Northwest Airlines flight at Portland Airport.

In the cabin, he took seat 18C, and shortly after takeoff he handed a note to a young flight attendant, Florence Shafner. The girl, thinking that the man decided to meet her, put the note in her pocket, but the passenger said: “Miss, you better look at the note. I have a bomb."

The note read: “I have a bomb in my briefcase. I use it if I deem it necessary. I want you to sit next to me. Your plane has been hijacked."

The note also contained demands for $200,000 in unmarked twenty-dollar bills and two sets of parachutes.

To prove the seriousness of his intentions, Dan B. Cooper opened his briefcase, in which the stewardess saw red cylinders, a large battery and wires, which convinced her that the bomb was real.

$200,000 and parachutes to boot

For the sake of saving the lives of passengers and crew members, the authorities decided to comply with the requirements of the invader.

The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, near Seattle, Washington.

An employee delivered $200,000 and parachutes through a door at the rear of the plane. Cooper then released all passengers and flight attendant Shafner. The pilot, second stewardess, co-pilot and flight engineer remained on board.

Attempts to negotiate with Cooper were unsuccessful. Intelligence agents were at a loss, trying to figure out why the hijacker requested two sets of parachutes and whether he could have an accomplice on board. In addition, no one has ever attempted to parachute out of a hijacked passenger airliner in history.

It was not possible to detain Cooper during the landing in Seattle. After refueling, the plane took off and headed for Mexico. Cooper then ordered the second flight attendant, who remained in the cabin, to go to the flight deck and stay there.

Jumped and disappeared

After some time, the crew, according to the readings of the instruments, discovered that Cooper had opened the tail door of the aircraft. The hijacker bailed out and disappeared forever.

It is assumed that the jump was made over the southwestern part of the state of Washington. While Cooper bailed out, the plane was passing through an area of ​​severe storm, shielded from any light sources from the ground by a cover of clouds. The parachutist could not be traced.

The Boeing returned safely to Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The FBI agents who examined the plane found no evidence that could identify the perpetrator.

A search in the proposed landing area also turned up nothing. In the hands of the police was only a sketch of the hijacker, compiled from the words of passengers and crew members.

Photofit of the hijacker, compiled from the words of passengers and crew members.

Three weeks after the hijacking, the Los Angeles Times received a letter. The following was written in it:

“I’m not a modern-day Robin Hood at all. Unfortunately, I only have fourteen months left to live. Hijacking was the quickest and most profitable way for me to secure the last days of my life. I didn't rob an airline because I thought it was romantic or heroic. I would never take such a huge risk for such stupidity. I do not condemn people who hate me for my act, nor do I condemn those who would like to see me caught and punished, especially since this will never happen. I had no doubt that I would not be caught. I have already flown several times on various routes. I'm not going to lie low in some old, lost town in the wilderness. And don't think I'm a psychopath: I haven't even gotten a parking ticket in my life.".

Money in the river as proof of death

It is believed that this letter was not written by Cooper himself, but by a certain joker. However, it was also not possible to install the joker.

According to the main version of the special services, Dan B. Cooper did not survive the jump, crashing on landing. In 1980, father and son Harold and Brian Ingram found on the banks of the Columbia River, northwest of Portland, a stack of old, faded twenty-dollar bills, presumably brought by the current from above, from the north. The audit showed that this money is indeed part of the ransom issued to the hijacker.

These dollars are the strongest evidence to date that the hijacker known as Dan B. Cooper died. The remains of Mr. Cooper, as well as any other traces, could not be found.

The guitar strap did not reveal the secret

Five years ago, in 2011, a certain Marla Wynn Cooper gave the FBI a leather guitar strap made by her uncle. Ms. Cooper believed her uncle was the mysterious Boeing hijacker.

According to her, the uncle, who was going to solve the family's financial problems, left somewhere in 1971 on the eve of Thanksgiving, and later returned with numerous injuries. At the same time, he allegedly confessed to his brother, Marla Winn's father, that he had committed the hijacking.

Marla Wynn Cooper said that she last saw her uncle in 1972, but he, according to her, lived happily for more than a quarter of a century, having died in 1999.

The strap provided by the woman, however, turned out to be unsuitable for research, so it was not possible to confirm or refute the new version.

Over the past 45 years, car thief Cooper has become a cultural phenomenon in the US. His name and history are mentioned in many books, films and series. The authors of some of them offer their own options for unraveling the mystery of this crime.

All this, however, has nothing to do with reality. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has decided that it is not appropriate for its agents to continue to resemble the characters of The X-Files. The riddle of Mr. Cooper is finally given into the hands of amateur enthusiasts. Perhaps they will have better luck.

) - the place where D. B. Cooper jumped out of the plane

Crew

The crew of flight NW305 was as follows:

• Aircraft Commander (FAC) - 51-year-old William A. Scott (Eng. William A. Scott). Very experienced pilot, worked for Northwest Airlines for 20 years.
• Co-Pilot - William "Bill" J. Ratazak William "Bill" J. Rataczak).
• Flight Engineer - Harold E. Anderson Harold E Anderson).

Three flight attendants worked in the cabin of the aircraft:

• Alice Hancock Alice Hancock) - senior stewardess,
• Tina Muklow (ur. Tina Mucklow), 22 years old.
• Florence Schaffner (ur. Florence Shaffner), 23 years old.

Chronology of events

Hijacking

On Wednesday, November 24, 1971, before Thanksgiving in the United States, a man named Dan Cooper boarded a Boeing 727-51 aboard N467US. He sat at the back of the plane in seat 18C.

Eight minutes after the plane took off from Portland (at 2:50 p.m.), Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner, who was sitting in a reclining seat attached to a door at the rear of the plane. She thought Cooper was giving her his phone number, so she put the note in her pocket. But he leaned even closer and said: Miss, you'd better take a look at the note. I have a bomb. The envelope contained a note with the following content: I have a bomb in my briefcase. I use it if I deem it necessary. I want you to sit next to me. Your plane has been hijacked» .

The note contained demands for $200,000 in unmarked $20 bills and two sets of parachutes. It also contained instructions on how parachutes with money were to be delivered to the plane with the threat of blowing it up in case of non-compliance. The decision was made to collaborate with D. B. Cooper. The stewardess had to find out if the bomb was real. Sensing this, he opened the briefcase for a moment so that the stewardess could see the red cylinders, the large battery, and the wires, which convinced her that the bomb was real. D. B. Cooper asked to be told to the pilots that the plane did not land until the requirements were met. She returned to the cockpit and relayed the "request" to the pilots.

Release of passengers in exchange for conditions

At 5:24 p.m., Portland Airport ATC transmitted that Cooper's demands would be met. He allowed the pilots to land the plane at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington. Flight 305 landed at 17:39. Cooper then ordered the pilots to taxi the aircraft to a remote section of the tarmac and turn off the cockpit lights so that the snipers could not see what was happening in it. Cooper demanded that Seattle ATC send a man with money and four parachutes to the plane without an escort. An employee delivered money and parachutes through a door at the rear of the plane. Cooper then released all passengers and two flight attendants - Alice Hancock and Florence Schaffner. The PIC, co-pilot, flight engineer and stewardess Tina Muklow were not released.

The FBI was taken aback by Cooper's plans and his request for four parachutes. The agents were also puzzled as to whether his accomplice was on board or if the parachutes were intended for the crew members who remained on board. Prior to this, no one in history had ever attempted to skydive from a hijacked commercial aircraft. While the plane was refueling, a federal government official civil aviation, who wanted to explain to Cooper the consequences of air piracy, went to the door of the plane and asked Cooper's permission to board the plane. He instantly rejected the official's request. The hijacker was suspicious of refueling, it was still not finished, although 15 minutes had already passed. He made threats to blow up the plane, which caused the tanker team to quickly try to speed up and then complete the refueling process.

Back to heaven, jump

After refuelling, a thorough check of the ransom and parachutes, negotiations and evaluation of flight plans, Cooper cleared the pilots to take off at approximately 19:40. During takeoff, Cooper asked flight attendant Tina Muklow, who had previously sat with him, to go into the cockpit and stay there. After some time in the cockpit, the crew noticed a flash of an indicator that Cooper had tried to open the door. The crew began to notice changes in cabin air pressure. Cooper opened the tailgate and jumped out of the plane. From that moment on, no one saw him again.

The FBI believes that his jump was made at 8:13 pm over southwestern Washington state because the tail ramp deflected at that time, most likely under Cooper's weight. While Cooper bailed out, the plane was passing through an area of ​​severe thunderstorms, shielded from any light sources from the ground by cloud cover. Due to poor visibility, the jump was not seen by the US Air Force F-106 fighters escorting the aircraft.

He was supposed to have landed in the southeast, near Lake Mervin, 48 kilometers north of Portland, Oregon ( 45°57′ N. sh. 122°39′ W d. /  45.950° N sh. 122.650°W d. / 45.950; -122.650 (G) (I)) . 2.5 hours after departure from Seattle, at approximately 10:15 pm, flight NW305 landed safely in Reno, Nevada with the rear airstairs lowered. Airport and runway were surrounded by FBI agents and local police. After contacting the pilots, it was determined that Cooper had disappeared. FBI agents boarded the plane to find any leftover evidence. They recovered several fingerprints and found two of the four parachutes. A thorough combing of the area where Cooper was supposed to land did not yield results. Cooper was not found, nor was his briefcase with the bomb, money, and two other parachutes. The people with whom Cooper interacted on board the aircraft and on the ground were interrogated to compile an identikit.

As of 2009, the FBI claims that the drawing is an exact likeness of Cooper because many individuals interviewed simultaneously in different places, gave almost identical descriptions.

Options for the further fate of the hijacker

I'm not a modern Robin Hood at all. Unfortunately, I only have fourteen months left to live. Hijacking was the quickest and most profitable way for me to secure the last days of my life. I didn't rob an airline because I thought it was romantic or heroic. I would never take such a huge risk for such stupidity. I do not condemn people who hate me for my act, nor do I condemn those who would like to see me caught and punished, especially since this will never happen. I had no doubt that I would not be caught. I have already flown several times on various routes. I'm not going to lie low in some old, lost town in the wilderness. And don't think I'm a psychopath: I haven't even gotten a parking ticket in my life..

However, many doubted that the letter was really written by Cooper, and not by some joker, believing that Cooper died while jumping, falling into the river.

In 1980, father and son Harold (Eng. Harold Ingram) and Brian Ingram (eng. Brian Ingram) found on the banks of the Columbia River northwest of Portland a stack of old faded 20-dollar bills, presumably brought by the current from above, from the north. In total, they found $6,000.

Investigators checked their serial numbers against the banknotes issued to Cooper and confirmed that this was part of Cooper's booty. For many, this served as proof that Cooper really died.

Consequences

Security questions

After the incident with D. B. Cooper, everyone Boeing aircraft 727 were equipped with a simple device, which, deviating under the influence of the oncoming air flow, during the flight prevents the opening of the exit in the tail section. This device was called "Cooper's spatula".

The further fate of the aircraft

Boeing 727-51 aircraft N467US continued to be operated by Northwest Airlines after the capture. On June 6, 1978, with b / n N838N was purchased by Piedmont Airlines, from which it was leased to airlines United Technologies (from December 1, 1982 to May 1, 1983), Flight Dynamics" (from May 1, 1983 to September 1984) and Key Airlines (September 1984 to May 1985). In May 1985, she was decommissioned and cut into scrap metal.

D. B. Cooper in popular culture

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Sources

1. (English) . United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 26, 2007. .
2. Skolnik, Sam. (English) , Seattle Post-Intelligencer(November 22, 2001). Retrieved January 9, 2008.
4. Grey, Geoffrey. (English) , New York(October 22, 2007). Retrieved 28 January 2008.
5. Bragg Lynn E. Myths and Mysteries of Washington. - Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot, 2005. - P. 2. - ISBN 0-7627-3427-2.
6. Steven, Richard. When D.B. Cooper Dropped From Sky: Where did the daring, mysterious skyjacker go? Twenty-five years later, the search is still on for even a trace (English) . The Philadelphia Inquirer(November 24, 1996), p. A20. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
7. Burkeman, Oliver. (English) , The Guardian(December 1, 2007). Retrieved 2 January 2008.
8. Krajicek, David(English) . Crime Library. Retrieved January 3, 2008. .
9. Bragg, p. 3.
10. Gilmore, Susan. (English) , The Seattle Times(November 22, 2001). Retrieved 2 January 2008.
11. Krajicek, David(English) . Crime Library. Retrieved January 3, 2008. .
12. Krajicek, David(English) . Crime Library. Retrieved January 3, 2008. .
13. Rothenberg David. The New Earth Reader: The Best of Terra Nova. - Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1999. - P. 4. - ISBN 0-262-18195-9.
14. Krajicek, David(English) . Crime Library. Retrieved January 9, 2008. .
15. Bragg, p. 4.
16. (English) . FBI (December 31, 2007). Retrieved February 5, 2009. .
17. Taylor, Michael. D.B. Cooper legend still up in air 25 years after leap, hijackers prompts strong feelings , San Francisco Chronicle(November 24, 1996). Retrieved January 9, 2008.
18. Cowan, James. (English) , National Post(January 3, 2008). Retrieved January 9, 2008.

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An excerpt characterizing Cooper, D.B.

About the party of prisoners in which Pierre was, during his entire movement from Moscow, there was no new order from the French authorities. On October 22, this party was no longer with the troops and convoys with which it left Moscow. Half of the convoy with breadcrumbs, which followed them for the first transitions, was beaten off by the Cossacks, the other half went ahead; the foot cavalrymen who went ahead, there was not one more; they all disappeared. The artillery, which the first crossings could be seen ahead of, was now replaced by the huge convoy of Marshal Junot, escorted by the Westphalians. Behind the prisoners was a convoy of cavalry things.
From Vyazma, the French troops, who had previously marched in three columns, now marched in one heap. Those signs of disorder that Pierre noticed on the first halt from Moscow have now reached the last degree.
The road they were on was paved on both sides with dead horses; ragged people, lagging behind different teams, constantly changing, then joined, then again lagged behind the marching column.
Several times during the campaign there were false alarms, and the soldiers of the convoy raised their guns, fired and ran headlong, crushing each other, but then again gathered and scolded each other for vain fear.
These three gatherings, marching together - the cavalry depot, the depot of prisoners and Junot's convoy - still constituted something separate and integral, although both, and the other, and the third quickly melted away.
In the depot, which had at first been one hundred and twenty wagons, now there were no more than sixty; the rest were repulsed or abandoned. Junot's convoy was also abandoned and several wagons were recaptured. Three wagons were plundered by backward soldiers from Davout's corps who came running. From the conversations of the Germans, Pierre heard that more guards were placed on this convoy than on prisoners, and that one of their comrades, a German soldier, was shot on the orders of the marshal himself because a silver spoon that belonged to the marshal was found on the soldier.
Most of these three gatherings melted the depot of prisoners. Of the three hundred and thirty people who left Moscow, now there were less than a hundred. The prisoners, even more than the saddles of the cavalry depot and than Junot's convoy, burdened the escorting soldiers. Junot's saddles and spoons, they understood that they could be useful for something, but why were the hungry and cold soldiers of the convoy standing guard and guarding the same cold and hungry Russians, who were dying and lagging behind the road, whom they were ordered to shoot - it was not only incomprehensible, but also disgusting. And the escorts, as if afraid in the sad situation in which they themselves were, not to give in to the feeling of pity for the prisoners that was in them and thereby worsen their situation, treated them especially gloomily and strictly.
In Dorogobuzh, while, having locked the prisoners in the stable, the escort soldiers left to rob their own shops, several captured soldiers dug under the wall and ran away, but were captured by the French and shot.
The former order, introduced at the exit from Moscow, that the captured officers should go separately from the soldiers, had long been destroyed; all those who could walk walked together, and from the third passage Pierre had already connected again with Karataev and the lilac bow-legged dog, which had chosen Karataev as its master.
With Karataev, on the third day of leaving Moscow, there was that fever from which he lay in the Moscow hospital, and as Karataev weakened, Pierre moved away from him. Pierre did not know why, but since Karataev began to weaken, Pierre had to make an effort on himself in order to approach him. And going up to him and listening to those quiet groans with which Karataev usually lay down at rest, and feeling the now intensified smell that Karataev emitted from himself, Pierre moved away from him and did not think about him.
In captivity, in a booth, Pierre learned not with his mind, but with his whole being, with his life, that man was created for happiness, that happiness is in himself, in satisfying natural human needs, and that all misfortune comes not from lack, but from excess; but now, in these last three weeks of the campaign, he learned another new, comforting truth - he learned that there is nothing terrible in the world. He learned that just as there is no position in which a person would be happy and completely free, so there is no position in which he would be unhappy and not free. He learned that there is a limit to suffering and a limit to freedom, and that this limit is very close; that the man who suffered because one leaf was wrapped in his pink bed, suffered in the same way as he suffered now, falling asleep on the bare, damp earth, cooling one side and warming the other; that when he used to put on his narrow ballroom shoes, he suffered in exactly the same way as now, when he was completely barefoot (his shoes had long been disheveled), his feet covered with sores. He learned that when he, as it seemed to him, of his own free will married his wife, he was no more free than now, when he was locked up at night in the stable. Of all that he later called suffering, but which he then hardly felt, the main thing was his bare, worn, scabbed feet. (Horse meat was tasty and nutritious, the nitrate bouquet of gunpowder used instead of salt was even pleasant, there was not much cold, and it was always hot during the day on the move, and at night there were fires; the lice that ate the body warmed pleasantly.) One thing was hard. First, it's the legs.
On the second day of the march, having examined his sores by the fire, Pierre thought it impossible to step on them; but when everyone got up, he walked limping, and then, when warmed up, he walked without pain, although in the evening it was still more terrible to look at his feet. But he did not look at them and thought about something else.
Now only Pierre understood the whole force of human vitality and the saving power of shifting attention invested in a person, similar to that saving valve in steam engines that releases excess steam as soon as its density exceeds a certain norm.
He did not see or hear how backward prisoners were shot, although more than a hundred of them had already died in this way. He did not think about Karataev, who was weakening every day and, obviously, was soon to undergo the same fate. Even less did Pierre think of himself. The more difficult his position became, the more terrible the future was, the more independent of the position in which he was, joyful and soothing thoughts, memories and ideas came to him.

On the 22nd, at noon, Pierre walked uphill along a muddy, slippery road, looking at his feet and at the unevenness of the road. From time to time he glanced at the familiar crowd surrounding him, and again at his feet. Both were equally his own and familiar to him. The lilac, bow-legged Gray ran merrily along the side of the road, occasionally, as proof of his agility and contentment, tucking his hind paw and jumping on three and then again on all four, rushing barking at the crows that were sitting on the carrion. Gray was more cheerful and smoother than in Moscow. On all sides lay the meat of various animals - from human to horse, in various degrees of decomposition; and the walking people kept the wolves away, so that Gray could eat as much as he wanted.
It had been raining since morning, and it seemed that it was about to pass and clear the sky, as after a short stop it started to rain even more. The road, soaked with rain, no longer accepted water, and streams flowed along the ruts.
Pierre walked, looking around, counting steps in three, and bending on his fingers. Turning to the rain, he inwardly said: come on, come on, give more, give more.
It seemed to him that he was thinking of nothing; but far and deep somewhere his soul thought something important and comforting. It was something of the finest spiritual extract from his yesterday's conversation with Karataev.
Yesterday, at a night's halt, chilled by an extinct fire, Pierre got up and went to the nearest, better burning fire. By the fire, to which he approached, Plato sat, hiding himself, like a robe, with his head in an overcoat, and told the soldiers with his argumentative, pleasant, but weak, painful voice, a story familiar to Pierre. It was past midnight. This was the time at which Karataev usually revived from a feverish fit and was especially animated. Approaching the fire and hearing Plato's weak, painful voice and seeing his miserable face brightly lit by fire, something unpleasantly pricked Pierre in his heart. He was afraid of his pity for this man and wanted to leave, but there was no other fire, and Pierre, trying not to look at Plato, sat down by the fire.
- What, how is your health? - he asked.
- What is health? Crying at an illness - God will not let death, - said Karataev and immediately returned to the story he had begun.
“... And now, my brother,” Plato continued with a smile on his thin, pale face and with a special, joyful gleam in his eyes, “here, you are my brother ...
Pierre knew this story for a long time, Karataev told this story to him alone six times, and always with a special, joyful feeling. But no matter how well Pierre knew this story, he now listened to it as to something new, and that quiet delight that Karataev apparently felt while telling, was communicated to Pierre. This story was about an old merchant who lived decently and God-fearing with his family and who once went with a friend, a wealthy merchant, to Macarius.
Stopping at the inn, both merchants fell asleep, and the next day the merchant's friend was found stabbed to death and robbed. The bloodied knife was found under the old merchant's pillow. The merchant was judged, punished with a whip, and, pulling out his nostrils, - as follows in order, said Karataev, - they were exiled to hard labor.
- And now, my brother (at this place Pierre found Karataev's story), it takes about ten years or more for that case. Furthermore. The old man lives in hard labor. As it should, he submits, he does no harm. Only the god of death asks. - Fine. And they get together, at night, hard labor then, just like you and me, and the old man with them. And the conversation turned, who suffers for what, what God is to blame for. They began to say that he ruined the soul, that two, that set it on fire, that fugitive, so for nothing. They began to ask the old man: why, they say, grandfather, are you suffering? I, my dear brothers, say, I suffer for my own and for human sins. And I didn’t destroy souls, I didn’t take someone else’s, except that I clothed the poor brethren. I, my dear brothers, are a merchant; and had great wealth. So and so, he says. And he told them, then, how the whole thing was, in order. I, he says, do not grieve about myself. It means that God found me. One thing, he says, I feel sorry for my old woman and children. And so the old man cried. If the same person happened in their company, it means that the merchant was killed. Where, says grandfather, was it? When, what month? asked everyone. His heart ached. Suitable in this manner to the old man - clap at the feet. For me, you, he says, old man, disappear. The truth is true; innocently in vain, he says, guys, this man is tormented. I, he says, did the same thing and put a knife under your sleepy head. Forgive me, says grandfather, you are me for the sake of Christ.