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DB Cooper

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(edited)

Found this, very interesting though some errors (assumptions)..

 

"On the night of 24 November 1971 a man who became known as D. B. Cooper boarded a Northwest Airlines 727 in Portland OR and then demanded $200,000 in cash and five parachutes, ransom money, and crews to open the back door and he parachuted out of the Seattle-bound plane with the ransom money. He was never found, nor was any validated evidence of him. Beginning in ca. 2000 a youth reportedly found scraps of the marked ransom money along the Columbia River near Vancouver WA. Other reports spotted fragments of his parachute; this has been repudiated. The 190th FIS scrambled two armed F-102A interceptors to shadow the hijacked plane, but the hijacker's cleverness and the nighttime conditions prevented very close observation of the airliner. 190th Pilot Major Gene Winchester recalls the incident and his story in this chapter reveals how carefully planned and executed was 'Cooper's Caper'. In October, the 190th alert crews were called on to assist in what has become known as the D B Cooper Affair. Lee Bernasconi was the 190th's Alert Detachment Commander at the time, and when I asked him about it and who was on alert when it happened, he replied, "Ahh, Winchester ... and I can't remember who else was on that night, Thanksgiving night, or maybe the Friday after Thanksgiving. [Laughing] I was at my home on Cole and Victory, and the phone rings, and two airplanes takeoff. I said, "That's my alert birds!" My home was at Cole and Victory. I said, "Hey, that's my alert birds! What's going on?" They [the night crew in the CAC] said they didn't know—so that's about all I knew. And our interceptors got over there and got generally behind him, but they didn't get there until after he crossed the Columbia River, and I think Cooper was already gone by then. And they followed him for a ways, and finally went in ... refueled, and came home. They didn't have radio contact with the airliner, and... probably stayed two miles back most of the time Gene Winchester remembers that Thanksgiving very well when he and Jack Newland were on alert, and at about 4:50 p.m. "... we got a telephone call saying there was a hijacking taking place, and they were airborne at the time and ... they told us to stand by. And then I guess they landed at Seattle first, and picked up the money and four parachutes and ... then they went over to Portland and landed again and let some of the passengers off. They called us and said this guy has commandeered the plane, and he's got the chutes and the money, and he's at Portland and ... ''what we want you to do is be at Portland in the traffic pattern—don't get too close that you'll bother him or startle him—but we'll put you on him in trail' and they figured he's going to bail out somewhere and so you just follow him, and don't get too close to scare him. The thing was, they told us 'when he bails out the commercial pilot would turn all his lights back on bright flash', and we would fly a triangle pattern to mark this spot on the radar. That was our briefing. "So Jack Newland and I took off and ... watched him take off from Portland and we snuck in to ... about a mile in trail—and it was a little difficult, he was only going 150. And he was staying about 10,000 feet." Recalling his previous cargo plane flying days, Winchester figured "... he'd maintain that altitude and airspeed as a safety factor because if he bailed out at a higher velocity... I had a little trouble keeping flying, so I'd get up on the perch and when I was about to stall, I'd go over and sit on the other side. And the lights never came on—the 'bright- flash' signal—when he jumped out. And I was told that he had displayed a weapon and told the crew to shut the cabin door. So they never knew exactly when he bailed out, that's why they didn't turn the lights on." Winchester continues, "So, evidently he went out there, and we had no way of knowing, and we followed that airliner to Reno—Jack and I, it was Thanksgiving evening, I remember that. We were worried about getting home for Thanksgiving dinner! But our briefing was 'he was going to land at Reno and refuel, and we don't want you to land on the same base with him', so we went over to Hamilton, I believe it was, and they would call us when he took off. I watched him land and that back door of that airplane was dragging on the runway and shooting sparks like—you know when you put a knife on the grinder?!It looked like the sparks was going 50 feet in the air! It's dark, and we probably.... got up there about somewhere around 6 o'clock—it was VFR, it was great—a clear night and we could see other airplanes ... and there were a couple F-106s out of McChord, they came down and were available for a while, then they went back. And we asked Maj Gene Winchester 'What are our instructions?' They said 'Well, we don't know if he's still on the airplane, or if he went out the back door when it stopped, he might be here, we 're going to make a cordon, a perimeter off, and do a ground search... And you go over there and get out of the way and fill up 'cause we think he might be going to Mexico; you might be following him to Mexico And I thought 'That sounds interesting!' So we sit over there for, I don't know, several hours. And then they called us and said 'you could go home'. We got back here about 7:00 a.m., Jack and I."1 Winchester had no direct radio contact with the airline crew, only with FAA Controllers. In the darkness and following in-trail at a safe distance, they never saw Cooper leave the airliner." 

 

 

Edited by FLYJACK

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23 hours ago, EJU said:

Daily DB Cooper Bite. I discuss the FBI's decision to close the DB Cooper case unsolved.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DBCooperChannel

 

 

The people investigating D.B. Cooper seem to have an element of frustration with the fact that the FBI is not interested in the case, and that in general the public is not really interested in any of the details.  This research appears to be important to you and your friends, but at what point does it become an unhealthy obsession?  Even if this was solved it would only get a quick snippet of time in the news and then quickly be replaced with something new.  Besides, the FBI has much bigger things to worry about, and any tips they get are probably being handled by some low paid, low level employee.  How would you feel if you were a victim of a crime and found out that the FBI was handling tips about a 50 year old case where no one was hurt and they could have been working your case instead?  Or that the FBI missed out on preventing a crime because they were tied up with tips?  I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad, but this seems like a hobby that you really should not get so wrapped up in.  How many people really care about this?  And what if one of these suspects turns out to be innocent? How would you feel?

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31 minutes ago, RobertMBlevins said:

You might be right if you were talking about FBI headquarters in DC, but I can assure you things are different at the Seattle office of the FBI. Believe it or not, and even though they won't reveal his (or her) identity, a case agent IS still assigned to investigate (wade through) the Cooper stuff. Yes, they still have a case agent assigned to Cooper. They've actually told me this. And only a few months ago. 

The public IS interested. I opened the Cooper Space at Quora in November of 2018. Six weeks later we had over 700 followers. 72,000+ plus people have viewed the KC video at YouTube, and the unedited report on him, a 53-page PDF with pictures, has been downloaded TENS OF THOUSANDS of times from the main AB of Seattle website since its release, and shows no sign of slowing down. Two movie production companies have partnered up to do the first ever, dramatic feature film on the Cooper case. Shooting hasn't started yet, but they still send me $2,000 bucks every February until they do...and the newest producer to sign on board has been in 17 movies and a TV series to date, none of which ever lost any money. (I met with him in Seattle this last January) The fifty or so illustrated articles on the case I have at WordPress average 300 unique visitors a day (or so) and have been for years. I still receive an average of 12-20 emails a week asking this question or that one about the case. Our Cooper Campouts are usually a sellout. (Although it is free to attend)

No...I wouldn't say either the FBI has totally given up on the case, or the public has completely lost interest, especially in the Northwest, although the FBI has said they do have to divert resources to more important matters. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't like to solve it, especially the folks at the SEATTLE office, who are almost legendary in wanting to see it (finally) closed. 

Or...maybe it was closed for ANOTHER reason...(I know this is arrogant, yes...but it HAPPENED)...and that's because they might already know who he is anyway. And just aren't saying it officially. 

One thing I do agree with you on these points is that sometimes people can become obsessed. For example, there is so much animosity going in Cooperland that *some* folks will spend half their internet life telling lies about OTHERS involved in the case, and go to almost any ridiculous length to discredit. Others hurt the case by failing to support things that could raise public interest in the case. Your best bet on how to deal with these things is to do what you do to help promote the case, and ignore the naysayers and the liars. B|

On a side note, five people are now signed to go on the latest Cooper Campout in late June. Anyone and everyone is invited, even if we've had 'issues' before. Internet stuff is one thing. Personal gatherings are another. I can tell you this much. No one has ever complained they didn't have any fun. Six weeks to go, and I think we will be able to fill the usual fourteen slots. I had doubts because this one is in Oregon, and all of the others were held in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, mostly near the Skokomish River area above Shelton. 

 

I was not aware there is still a case agent.  I can see your point about people in the Northwest being more into this case than other parts of the country.  Thanks for the information.  Do you know if the FBI has a profile for a suspect and has that changed now that he would be an old man?  What is different about a 40 year old hijacker now that he is in his 90's?  Does he act differently now, tell stories in a nursing home, give his grandchildren large sums of money?  Would something show up in his will, or in a foot locker in the attic? 

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Robert, I'm having trouble with your recent posts and your blog article.

Three security clearance holders and an FBI agent go to a ballgame. One of the SC guys has read your blog and has an interest in the case. He asks the FBI guy about it, and the agent noncommittally nods affirmation to the SC guy's suspicions, apparently comfortable doing so BECAUSE these guys hold clearances. So the next thing this guy does is betray the reason he holds a clearance by emailing a WRITER and blabbing what he's found out. I can kind of follow it that far, because the guy knows you've put a lot of work into it and might like to know that you could be right. But then YOU write a blog article and post here, naming names and showing a picture.

You've written several posts expressing disdain that a rigger would yank a reporter's chain, "Almost getting him FIRED!", then you potentially risk the jobs of three clearance holders and an FBI agent, ostensibly for personal vindication.

I'm pretty sure that's not consistent.

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(edited)

FOUND IT... I had it on my computer but forgot about it..

 

The 727 emergency aft airstair placard and door. This real image matches diagrams.

The Hicks Placard is inconsistent with this 727 emergency release placard.

Hicks placard looks too large and has the rivet/screw/fastener holes. The access door has none.

 

If the placard was attached on the wall above the access door then pieces trapped under the rivet/screw/fasteners would have remained and been noticed.

The placard looked too clean to be in the woods seven years.

The emergency aft airstair release placard part number also references the 737, early 737's had side aft airstairs built in.

 

Conclusion, unlikely the Hicks placard came from NORJAK.

 

NORJAK 727 SN 18807 built 10/22/65

this image from 727 SN 18998 built 03/13/66

 

727EMERGRELDOOR.jpeg.4a994eef98ebe6e2f025b128f9595cf8.jpeg

 

placard1.jpg.48c5781d58b1c5d2667c0d78d6bed857.jpg

Edited by FLYJACK

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19 hours ago, RobertMBlevins said:

When Troy first contacted me about his story, he was pretty reluctant. He asked me not to make his name public. I told him I could only make that promise for a year. So...I withheld his name and a few key details for over a full year as promised. Then...I finally went public about it and notified him about the article. He did not have any objections. (The Cossey thing is different. Cossey actually LIED to a reporter, saying the Amboy chute WAS Cooper's, and then later retracted that story when the angry reporter called him a second time.) 

It all happened because of a big coincidence. Troy had read Into The Blast, the sort-of incomplete book about Kenny Christiansen, just days prior to meeting Agent Jarvis. I guess he couldn't help himself. He HAD to ask Jarvis if he knew anything about Christiansen and his possible relationship to the Cooper case. If he hadn't seen the book, I'm pretty sure this incident would not have occurred. 

At first, the whole thing was pretty dicey. He thought I wouldn't believe him, so he sends me everything but the kitchen sink. The names of his friends, where they worked, their contact info, and even some personal references from his own workplace. Everything checked out as far as AB staff could tell. The only thing he got wrong was the score of the baseball game in his email, but I wrote that off as excitement. This was followed by some phone calls we exchanged. 

Troy's wife also got very pissed off at him, calling him a 'whistleblower,' and reminding him that THEIR kids did swim team with not only OTHER FBI agents' kids, but military family kids as well...and that he could lose his job. This is part of the reason I told Bentz I would keep his name out of it for a year. I actually went longer than that. He contacted me in late August 2016, about a month after the FBI closed the case. I waited almost 18 months. 

The Troy Bentz incident is not the first time someone has risked their career with the government to reveal a secret, or come forward with the truth, which in the long run of things is better than hiding a lie. Jarvis affirmed not just once, but TWICE, that the real reason the case was closed was because the FBI had discovered KC was the guy, and he was dead anyway. If Bentz' story is true, it even makes a sort of sense. It was only 14 months prior to the case closure that we send the Seattle FBI our 53-page report on Christiansen. Could they be related, the file and the closure just a year later? I don't know. But I did wonder about it. 

To be fair, it's also possible the agent was jerking everyone's chain, or just giving his own opinion. But it doesn't really sound that way. One thing is for sure. If the movie producers DO end up actually shooting this picture, and they use the Jarvis/Bentz story...someone, somewhere, is going to have to answer for it with the truth. The WordPress article has been out for an additional year and a half now. The Seattle FBI has been told about it. Jarvis was told about it, although I can't say he read my email. We used Jarvis' picture. Minnow Films out of London shot the whole story and used Jarvis' picture and Bentz' name during their documentary shoot last fall, and that will be coming out at some point. 

No one has contacted me telling me to take down Jarvis' picture, or to retract the story. His picture in the article is from his official FBI profile. Tell you the truth, I am more or less DARING them to respond to it. It is one of the most heavily viewed of the WordPress articles on Cooper. 

 

The Kenny Christanson story is interesting, but there are a number of suspects who supposedly have the FBI attached to them.  The Rackstraw team says they have FBI backing them up, so does the Reca group, the Sheridan Peterson guy says he spoke to a FBI agent who thinks Peterson could be Cooper. 

Why could you only promise to keep Troy's name secret for a year?  I think it would be great for you to do a movie, it would help you get people interested in the case.  Regardless of how interested some people are, I just don't see the nationwide interest in this case.  Maybe you can change that.  When I search for D.B. Cooper, most of what I find is about Robert Rackstraw.

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8 hours ago, FLYJACK said:

FOUND IT... I had it on my computer but forgot about it..

 

The 727 emergency aft airstair placard and door. This real image matches diagrams.

The Hicks Placard is inconsistent with this 727 emergency release placard.

Hicks placard looks too large and has the rivet/screw/fastener holes. The access door has none.

 

If the placard was attached on the wall above the access door then pieces trapped under the rivet/screw/fasteners would have remained and been noticed.

The placard looked too clean to be in the woods seven years.

The emergency aft airstair release placard part number also references the 737, early 737's had side aft airstairs built in.

 

Conclusion, unlikely the Hicks placard came from NORJAK.

 

NORJAK 727 SN 18807 built 10/22/65

this image from 727 SN 18998 built 03/13/66

 

727EMERGRELDOOR.jpeg.4a994eef98ebe6e2f025b128f9595cf8.jpeg

 

placard1.jpg.48c5781d58b1c5d2667c0d78d6bed857.jpg

How could there possibly be a part from a 727 right where the D.B. Cooper plane flew over?  Could it have been planted?

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(edited)
On 5/11/2019 at 11:58 PM, dudeman17 said:

Robert, I'm having trouble with your recent posts and your blog article.

Three security clearance holders and an FBI agent go to a ballgame. One of the SC guys has read your blog and has an interest in the case. He asks the FBI guy about it, and the agent noncommittally nods affirmation to the SC guy's suspicions, apparently comfortable doing so BECAUSE these guys hold clearances. So the next thing this guy does is betray the reason he holds a clearance by emailing a WRITER and blabbing what he's found out. I can kind of follow it that far, because the guy knows you've put a lot of work into it and might like to know that you could be right. But then YOU write a blog article and post here, naming names and showing a picture.

You've written several posts expressing disdain that a rigger would yank a reporter's chain, "Almost getting him FIRED!", then you potentially risk the jobs of three clearance holders and an FBI agent, ostensibly for personal vindication.

I'm pretty sure that's not consistent.

Totally agree with above.

Here are some points that need to be considered regarding this "revelation":

1. Agent Jarvis was not involved in the DB Cooper investigation, period. So why would he have any inside info on the case? Did the FBI send a memo to all of their employees letting them know they solved the case, but was just going to drop it since the perpetrator was dead? Highly doubtful. So then, how did Jarvis get this info?

2. According to Blevins own article, Jarvis never mentioned Kenny Christiansen by name. He only nodded his head when his name was mentioned.

3. Why would the FBI go public with LD Cooper, a dead suspect who they called their "most promising suspect", but then decide that it wasn't worth naming Christiansen as Cooper, once they "solved" the case.

4. Jarvis had no secret intel or no secret knowledge on the case. He knew what the public knew and what Ayn Dietrich-Williams said in an email to Bruce Williams: Prior to closing the case, the FBI spent the previous 5 years looking into LD Cooper, a dead guy that they thought was DB Cooper. When they were unable to prove LD was in fact DB, the case was closed.

So, with the above in mind, isn't is possible (likely even) that Jarvis, not being overly familiar with case, knew that there was a dead guy that the FBI thought was Cooper, and they closed the case after completing their investigation on the guy. He probably didn't remember the guys name, again because he doesn't work on the case and only has a passing knowledge of the case and some of the details. It comes up in conversation and he says, "Yeah, the guys dead so they just closed it". Someone says, "You mean it was Christiansen". he says "yeah, that guy". Same reaction he would've had if they had said Cooper, or Weber, or McCoy. Why? Because it was small talk between friends and he really doesn't know anything special or sensitive regarding the case.

 

Bottom Line: If the case was solved, the FBI would absolutely make it known. 

Edited by ParrotheadVol

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13 hours ago, JJG78 said:

How could there possibly be a part from a 727 right where the D.B. Cooper plane flew over?  Could it have been planted?

Simple, the Cowlitz sheriff was convinced the placard came from Cooper but the FBI wasn't and they had to walk it back..

This article plus the images/info I found convince me that it is very unlikely the placard came from Cooper.  This is the crazy nature of this Cooper case, what at first seems to be a fact just isn't.

 

Eugene Register-Guard Jan 19,1979

Decal’s link to hijacker discounted

"SEATTLE (AP) - a heavy plastic placard found in a heavily forested area of southwest Washington could have dropped off any passing Boeing 727, not necessarily the plane skyjacked by the legendary D.B.Cooper, officials acknowledge.

The FBI said Thursday the placard could have dropped from a plane during a re-enactment of the incident six weeks after the 1971 hijacking.

Cowlitz County Sheriff Les Nelson said the placard was of the type posted next to the rear exits of 727’s and added, “It’s one in a million that any other plane could have lost it in the area in which D.B. Cooper jumped.”

The FBI, however, said the placard, posted on the outside of the jetliner, could have dropped off almost any 727 that flew over southwest Washington during the past eight years.

Ray Mathis, FBI spokesman in Seattle, said the hijacked plane was used in a simulation of the hijacking, and, “we noticed the decal was missing after that, but not before.”

Those placards have been known to fall off on the runway,” added a Boeing spokesman.

It was disclosed Wednesday that an elk hunter found the notice last November about 12 miles east of Kelso.The discovery was kept quiet while FBI and Cowlitz County sheriff’s detectives tried to verify the placard’s origin.

A person identifying himself as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient plane Thanksgiving eve on a flight between Portland and Seattle. He received $200,000 and jumped from the plane. Authorities have seen neither Cooper nor the money since."

 

placardquestioned.jpeg.351ea790335acdf1685ff9fb85484125.jpeg

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On 5/13/2019 at 9:48 AM, ParrotheadVol said:

Bottom Line: If the case was solved, the FBI would absolutely make it known. 

You all assume Cooper was a folk hero and this was a one off for him.  The truth is he was a career criminal and serial killer.  There are other high profile cases still open that he is responsible for.  They also may not disclose who he was so others do not copycat.

cooper_dr_zodiac.jpg

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6 hours ago, EJU said:

Daily DB Cooper Bite. I discuss the psychological profile of DB Cooper.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DBCooperChannel

 

 

I'm going to take a guess and say your psychological profile fits Sheridan Peterson perfectly.  Am I right? I've seen a few of these bytes, and there is some interesting material in a few, but other times it's like listening to a used car salesman or a TV infomercial.

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7 hours ago, EJU said:

Daily DB Cooper Bite. I discuss DB Cooper suspect Robert Rackstraw.

Cool.  Do one on Ed Edwards.

Pros:

  • Was in the hospital in late 1971/early 1972 with a broken back & neck from "falling down a flight of stairs"
  • Published autobiography with depiction of himself in a suit with a briefcase in 1972
  • Prime suspect in 1960 Thanksgiving double murder in Portland, OR where he escaped jail to avoid questioning, placing him on the FBI 10 most wanted list. (Peyton-Allan Files, Phil Stanford)

Cons:

  • John Cameron (primary investigator on this case) has attributed dozens of high profile crimes to him including the Zodiac killer, JonBenet Ramsey, & Black Dahlia
  • Died in 2010 at the age of 72 without confessing after being convicted to life in prison
  • Was a family man with 3 children at time of skyjack

MOAC.jpg

stairs.jpg

wanted.jpg

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(edited)
17 minutes ago, RobertMBlevins said:

Yeah, but Hahneman was pretty foolish and somewhat careless. He came into contact with hotel staff several times and was easily identified by the FBI shortly after the hijacking. 

And he was caught, and all the money recovered. Cooper's money still remains the ONLY unaccounted-for money paid out for a hijacking, at least from the date of Hahneman's crime and prior. And Cooper was never identified or caught, not officially anyway. 

Not exactly, Hahneman was identified because somebody, possibly a relative tipped off the FBI. The FBI didn't actually ID him. Once identified he turned himself in. He was actually home free in Honduras, he could have stayed there with no extradition even if identified but he voluntarily returned to the US. 

He got away with it but returned to protect his cousin...

BTW, The pilot positively Id'd Richard Cain as the hijacker... he wasn't.

Richard Cain (October 4, 1931 – December 20, 1973), also known as Richard Scalzitti, was a notoriously corrupt Chicago police officer and a close associate of Mafia boss Sam Giancana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cain

Edited by FLYJACK

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