DB Cooper

[skypuppy 1]

That thread about skydiving movies got me thinking about 'The Pursuit of DB Cooper'.
Whatever happened to him anyways? The guy had a lot of balls... Is he still out there?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[PhreeZone 15]

My gues... he died within the last 10 years and left most the money spread all over the northwest on exit...

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[beau31duke 0]

Don't know if you'll take the time to read it, but this is a college paper i wrote last year. I did a lot of research on it. I don't think we will ever know. Theres been many people claim to have been him. This is all based on what i found in articles on line.

Beau Lambert
Professor McMcackins
EN-140
February 23, 2001

D.B. Cooper – The Legend
Dan Cooper is hijacking a Boeing 727 and he plans to escape capture by parachuting out of the plane. The FBI gives him two hundred thousand dollars and four sport parachutes. After the plane is air borne the pilot notices the rear stairway is down and the man is gone. There was a terrible winter storm and the FBI is unable to find the man and to this day they never have.

It was the day before Thanksgiving, November 24, 1971. A man dressed in a black suite bought a twenty-dollar ticket in Portland, Oregon to Seattle-Tacoma Airport in Seattle, Washington with a 3:35 P.M. take off scheduled. There were 35 other passengers aboard Flight 305 for a short flight on a Boeing 727. There was a short delay but the plane finally took off at 4:45: P.M.

Barely after takeoff the man slipped a note to one of the flight attendants. She thought he was hitting on her so she slipped in her pocket. He leaned closer and said, “Miss, you’d better look at that note. I have a bomb.” Its not clear what the note said exactly, but he wanted four sport parachutes and two hundred thousand dollars in twenties and he intended to blow up the plane if his plans were not met.

Once the plan landed in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport three hours later at 5:40 P.M. the passengers still didn’t know they were hostages. Once he received his demands he let the passengers go. He then instructed the pilot to fly to Mexico but to fly no higher than ten thousand ft with wing flaps at fifteen degrees, the rear stairway down and the landing gear down. Thus keeping the plane under two hundred miles per hour and making it easier to jump.

The pilot told him he couldn’t takeoff and he relented when the pilot instructed him that the plane would not takeoff with the rear stairway down. The plane was refueled and it took off almost two hours after it had landed. Cooper instructed the flight attendant to go up to the cockpit and to stay there. She was able to glance back occasionally and thought she saw him tying something around his waist, probably the money. Less than five minutes later, Cooper began trying to open the stairway. Sometime around 8:05 P.M. about thirty minutes after takeoff a cockpit warning light indicated the rear stairway was down. The pilot got on the intercom and asked, “Is every thing was o.k.?” and if he needed anything. Cooper said. “No.” He was never heard from nor seen again.

At 8:11 P.M. the crew felt pressure bumps, the FBI feels his jumping caused the door to spring back shut thus making the plane shake. He had jumped into a storm, with air temperatures around 7 degrees below zero, strong winds and freezing rain. It wasn’t until the plane landed in Reno that the FBI knew for sure that he was gone.

Did D.B. make it? No one really knows for sure. There has never been any proof he is still alive or that he is dead. Cooper jumped somewhere around twenty-five minutes into the flight and must have landed near the small community of Ariel, east of Woodland. The problem was that he jumped into a storm, with air temperatures below zero. Agents combed the plane and were left with nothing but his skinny black tie, a tie tack, eight of his cigarette butts, two of the parachutes, and possibly a fingerprint among the 66 never identified.

Some evidence does prove that he did land somewhere near the Columbia River, about five miles northwest of Vancouver, Washington. An eight-year old boy on a family picnic found $5,800 in three bundles of weathered $20 bills. The money was identified by the FBI as part of the money give to Coope when he hijacked the plane.

Cooper had selected the right plane, but the wrong parachute. The 727 was the only plane in which the stairs could be opened in mid flight. Since a latching device called the Cooper Vane has been installed to prevent opening in mid flight. He selected two worst parachutes including the one marked X meaning it might malfunction. He didn’t require the pilot to fly a precise route meaning he had no precise landing area selected. He also didn’t ask for warm clothing or helmet or anything to help him survive. FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach said in his book, “We would have given it to him; we gave him everything else.” He also says, “He was wearing loafers on his feet and you know those things blew off the second he jumped.”

Beau

D.BCOOPER.DOC

[ltdiver 3]

Try this: D.B. Cooper and scroll down to the bottom for some links there.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[nws01 0]

http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/News/1971/November/24-DB_Cooper.asp

Here is a pretty good article.

[Spy38W 0]

Cool, that's what I was looking for, but I couldn't find it.. Interesting stuff

--
Hook high, flare on time

[steve1 5]

I really think that he drowned in the river. If you have ever driven along that stretch of the Columbia you can see how dangerous this river would be to try to swim out of. It is very deep, wide, and swift in places. This river could easily hide a jumper and his chute deep below the surface. They also found some of his money floating in this river. So that's my theory. Steve1

[VivaHeadDown 0]

I heard he opened up a DZ called Skydive Chicago, and is going to host the Nationals this year. But the FBI blames him for everything else so why not this as well.

Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

[Iflyme 0]

A man died in Florida a year or two ago, and on his deathbed, he told his wife he was D B Cooper ... FBI checked in to it, but did not conclude for sure if really was him ...