Dan Cooper, also known as D.B. Cooper, was the nickname of a man whose identity is unknown. On November 24, 1971, he hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 airplane traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington. Cooper told the flight crew he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 in ransom (worth about $1.6 million today) and four parachutes after landing in Seattle. After letting the passengers leave the plane in Seattle, Cooper told the crew to refuel the airplane and begin a second flight to Mexico City, with a stop in Reno, Nevada. After taking off from Seattle, Cooper opened the airplane’s back door, used the airstair, and jumped out with a parachute. His final location and what happened to him remain unknown. The name “D.B. Cooper” came from a mistake made by a reporter, and no one has ever discovered the hijacker’s true identity or where he went after jumping.
In 1980, some of the ransom money ($5,800) was found near the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. This discovery made people interested in the event again but did not help find more information. The rest of the money was never found. For 45 years after the hijacking, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) studied the case and collected a lot of information but did not learn the hijacker’s identity. In 2016, the FBI stopped its active investigation of the case, but some people still try to find answers about who D.B. Cooper was and what happened to him.
Cooper’s hijacking and similar hijackings that happened later caused major changes in airport and airplane security. Metal detectors were added at airports, baggage checks became required, and passengers who paid for tickets with cash were checked more carefully. The hijacking by D.B. Cooper is the only unsolved case of air piracy in the history of commercial aviation.
Hijacking
On November 24, 1971 (Thanksgiving Eve), a man went to the flight counter for Northwest Orient Airlines at Portland International Airport. He used cash to buy a one-way ticket for Flight 305, a 30-minute flight north to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). On the ticket, he wrote his name as "Dan Cooper." People who saw him described Cooper as a white man in his mid-40s with dark hair and brown eyes. He wore a black or brown business suit, a white shirt, a thin black tie, a black raincoat, and brown shoes. He carried a black attaché case and a brown paper bag. Cooper boarded Flight 305, a Boeing 727-100 (FAA registration N467US), and sat in seat 18-E, the last row. He ordered a drink, a bourbon and 7-Up, from a flight attendant.
Flight 305 had 36 passengers and six crew members: Captain William A. Scott, First Officer William "Bill" J. Rataczak, flight engineer Harold E. Anderson, and flight attendants Alice Hancock, Tina Mucklow, and Florence Schaffner. The flight left Portland on time at 2:50 pm PST. Shortly after takeoff, Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Schaffner, who was sitting in the jump seat at the back of the plane, behind Cooper. Schaffner thought the note was a phone number and put it in her purse without opening it. Cooper leaned toward her and whispered, "Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb."
Schaffner opened the note. Cooper had written in neat, all-capital letters with a felt-tip pen: "Miss—I have a bomb in my briefcase and want you to sit by me." Schaffner returned the note to Cooper, sat next to him as he requested, and asked to see the bomb. Cooper opened his attaché case, and Schaffner saw what looked like a bomb: a large cylindrical battery connected by wires to two rows of four red cylinders she thought were dynamite.
Cooper closed the case and told Schaffner his demands. Schaffner wrote down Cooper’s demands, took the note to the cockpit, and told the flight crew what had happened. Captain Scott told Schaffner to stay in the cockpit and take notes for the rest of the flight. He then told Northwest flight operations in Minnesota about Cooper’s demands: "[Cooper] requests $200,000 in a knapsack by 5:00 pm. He wants two front parachutes, two back parachutes. He wants the money in negotiable American currency." By asking for two sets of parachutes, Cooper suggested he planned to take a hostage, which would stop authorities from giving him fake equipment.
With Schaffner in the cockpit, flight attendant Mucklow sat next to Cooper to help communicate between him and the crew. Cooper made more demands through Mucklow: when the plane landed at Sea-Tac, fuel trucks must meet the plane, and all passengers must stay seated while Mucklow brought the money aboard. Cooper said he would let the passengers go after he got the money. The last items brought on board would be the four parachutes.
Scott told Sea-Tac air traffic control about the situation, and they contacted the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Passengers were told their arrival in Seattle would be delayed because of a "minor mechanical difficulty." Donald Nyrop, president of Northwest at the time, approved the ransom payment and told employees to follow Cooper’s demands. For about two hours, Flight 305 circled Puget Sound in a holding pattern to give the SPD and FBI time to gather the money, parachutes, and emergency personnel.
On the plane, Cooper told Mucklow to stay by his side at all times. Mucklow later said Cooper seemed familiar with the local area. While looking out the window, he said, "Looks like Tacoma down there," as the plane flew above it. When Mucklow told Cooper the parachutes were coming from McChord Air Force Base, Cooper correctly noted that McChord was only a 20-minute drive from Sea-Tac. She later described Cooper’s behavior: "[Cooper] was not nervous. He seemed rather nice and he was not cruel or nasty."
While the plane circled Seattle, Mucklow talked to Cooper and asked why he chose Northwest Airlines to hijack. Cooper laughed and said, "It's not because I have a grudge against your airline, it's just because I have a grudge," before explaining the flight suited his needs. Cooper asked where Mucklow was from; she said she was originally from Pennsylvania but lived in Minneapolis. Cooper said Minnesota was "very nice country." Mucklow asked where Cooper was from, but he became upset and refused to answer. Cooper asked Mucklow if she smoked and offered her a cigarette. Mucklow said she had quit but accepted the cigarette.
FBI records note Cooper spoke briefly to an unidentified passenger while the plane held its pattern over Seattle. Passenger George Labissoniere told FBI agents he went to the restroom behind Cooper several times. After one visit, Labissoniere said a passenger wearing a cowboy hat was asking Mucklow about the mechanical problem. Labissoniere said Cooper was first amused but then told the man to return to his seat. The man ignored Cooper and kept asking Mucklow questions. Labissoniere said he persuaded the man to return to his seat.
Mucklow’s version of the event was different. She said a passenger asked for a sports magazine to read because he was bored. She and the passenger moved behind Cooper, where they looked for magazines. The passenger took a copy of The New Yorker and returned to his seat. When Mucklow went back to sit with Cooper, he said, "If that is a sky marshal, I don't want any more of that," but Mucklow assured him no sky marshals were on the flight. The man in the cowboy hat was not interviewed by the FBI and was never identified.
The $200,000 ransom was received from Seattle First National Bank in a bag weighing about 19 pounds (8.5 kg). This was because the money was made of 10,000 unmarked $20 bills, as Cooper had specifically requested. Most of the bills had serial numbers starting with "L," which meant they were issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The FBI photographed the money on microfilm. The SPD got the two front (reserve) parachutes from a local skydiving school and the two back (main) parachutes from a local stunt pilot.
Around 5:24 pm PST, Captain Scott was told the parachutes had arrived at Sea-Tac and informed Cooper they would land soon. At 5:46 pm PST, Flight 305 landed at Sea-Tac. With Cooper’s permission, Scott parked the plane on a partially lit runway away from the main terminal. Cooper demanded only one airline representative approach the plane with the parachutes and money, and the only entrance and exit would be through the front door via boarding stairs.
Northwest’s Seattle operations manager, Al Lee, was chosen to deliver the items. To avoid confusion, he wore civilian clothes instead of his uniform. With passengers staying seated, a ground crew attached a boarding stair. As Cooper directed, Mucklow exited the plane through the front door and retrieved the bag with the ransom money. She carried the bag past the seated passengers to Cooper in the last row.
Cooper then agreed to release the passengers. As they left the plane, Cooper checked the money.
Investigation
In addition to 66 hidden fingerprints found on the plane, FBI agents found Cooper’s black clip-on tie, tie clip, and two of the four parachutes. One parachute had been opened, and three of its lines were cut. Investigators talked to people who saw the hijacking in Portland, Seattle, and Reno, and made drawings based on their descriptions. Local and federal police started asking people who might be connected to the crime. In a hurry to meet a deadline, reporter James Long from The Oregon Journal wrote the name “Dan Cooper” as “D. B. Cooper.” Another reporter, Clyde Jabin, repeated the mistake, and the name “D. B. Cooper” became the one used.
Portland police looked into a man named D. B. Cooper who lived locally. He had a small police record but was not a suspect. Finding the exact area to search was hard because many factors changed. The plane’s speed estimates varied, the weather along the flight path changed depending on where the plane was, and only Cooper knew how long he fell before opening his parachute. Pilots flying nearby did not see anyone jumping from the plane or see a parachute on radar. A person wearing black clothes jumping into the dark night would be hard to see, especially because of poor visibility, clouds, and no lights on the ground. Other pilots flying nearby did not see the plane.
On December 6, 1971, 12 days after the hijacking, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover approved using a U.S. Air Force SR-71 Blackbird plane to retrace the flight path of Flight 305 and look for items Cooper might have carried. The SR-71 made five flights, but the poor weather made the search unsuccessful. In an experiment, FBI agents used the same type of plane as the hijacking and pushed a 200-pound sled out of the plane. This helped them recreate the movement of the plane’s tail and the brief change in cabin pressure described by the crew. Early guesses placed Cooper’s landing area near Mount St. Helens, a few miles southeast of Ariel, Washington, near Lake Merwin, an artificial lake. Search teams focused on Clark and Cowlitz counties, covering areas around the Lewis River in Southwest Washington. FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies searched large forested areas on foot and by helicopter. They also checked homes and ran boats along Lake Merwin and Yale Lake. Nothing from Cooper or his equipment was found.
The FBI used planes and helicopters from the Oregon Army National Guard to search the entire flight path called Victor 23 (or “Vector 23” in some reports) from Seattle to Reno. Many broken tree tops and objects like plastic pieces resembling parachute parts were found, but nothing related to the hijacking was discovered. In early 1972, after snow melted, FBI agents and about 200 soldiers from Fort Lewis, along with Air Force personnel and volunteers, searched Clark and Cowlitz counties for 18 days in March and another 18 days in April. A marine salvage company used a submarine to search 200 feet deep in Lake Merwin. Two women found a skeleton in an abandoned building in Clark County, which was later identified as the remains of Barbara Ann Derry, a teenager who was kidnapped and killed by a suspected serial killer. No evidence from the hijacking was found.
Early computer estimates for the FBI suggested Cooper’s landing area was between the Lewis River dam and Battle Ground, Washington. In March 1972, after a joint investigation with Northwest Orient Airlines and the Air Force, the FBI thought Cooper jumped over La Center, Washington. In 2019, the FBI shared a report about a grocery store burglary near Heisson, Washington, which was within the area where Cooper was believed to have landed. The report said the burglar took survival items like beef jerky and gloves, but the burglar wore “military-type boots with a corrugated sole,” while Cooper was described as wearing slip-on shoes.
One month after the hijacking, the FBI shared the serial numbers of the ransom money with banks, casinos, racetracks, and law enforcement worldwide. Northwest Orient Airlines offered a reward of 15% of the recovered money, up to $25,000. In early 1972, the U.S. Attorney General shared the serial numbers with the public. Two men used fake $20 bills with Cooper’s serial numbers to trick a Newsweek reporter into giving them $30,000 in exchange for an interview with someone they claimed was the hijacker.
In early 1973, The Oregon Journal republished the serial numbers and offered $1,000 (about $7,253 in 2025) for the first person to turn in a ransom bill to the newspaper or FBI. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer offered a $5,000 reward. These offers stayed active until Thanksgiving 1974, but no real bills were found. In 1975, Northwest Orient Airlines’s insurance company paid the airline $180,000 (about $1,100,000 in 2025) for the lost ransom money.
Flight data showed the first guess about where Cooper landed was wrong. The pilot flying the plane manually because of Cooper’s demands said the flight path was farther east than first thought. Additional data from a pilot flying four minutes behind Flight 305 showed the FBI had used the wrong wind direction in its calculations, making the estimates incorrect.
Based on this new data, the FBI thought Cooper likely landed over the Washougal River watershed. In 1986, FBI Agent Ralph Himmelsbach said, “If I were looking for Cooper, I would go to the Washougal.” The area around Washougal was searched many times, but nothing from the hijacking was found. The FBI believes any physical clues were probably destroyed in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
On July 8, 2016, the FBI said it was no longer actively investigating the case, explaining that resources were needed for more urgent issues. Local offices would still accept tips about the case.
Physical evidence
During their search of the aircraft, FBI agents discovered four key pieces of evidence directly connected to D.B. Cooper: a black clip-on tie, a tie clip made of mother-of-pearl, a single strand of hair from a headrest, and eight cigarette butts from an ashtray.
The black clip-on tie was found in seat 18-E, where Cooper had sat. A gold tie clip with a circular mother-of-pearl center was attached to the tie. The FBI learned the tie was sold only at JCPenney stores but was no longer available after 1968. In 2007, the FBI created a partial DNA profile from samples on the tie, but no DNA matched Cooper. FBI Agent Fred Gutt said, "The tie had two small DNA samples and one large sample, but it is hard to draw clear conclusions from these." The FBI also shared new evidence, including Cooper’s airline ticket, sketches, and a request for public help identifying him.
In 2009, a group of researchers called the Cooper Research Team (CRT) used GPS and satellite technology to study the case again. The team included scientists from different fields, such as a paleontologist, an illustrator, a computer scientist, and a metallurgist. They examined hundreds of tiny particles on Cooper’s tie. Using electron microscopy, they found spores from a plant called Lycopodium, which are often found in medicines. They also discovered particles of titanium, bismuth, antimony, cerium, strontium sulfide, aluminum, and titanium-antimony alloys. These materials suggested Cooper might have worked at Boeing, a chemical plant, or a metal factory.
The most important finding was unalloyed titanium, a rare material in the 1970s used mainly in aircraft or chemical industries. Cerium and strontium sulfide were used by Boeing and companies like Teledyne and Tektronix. Some researchers think the titanium-antimony alloys might be linked to a company called Rem-Cru Titanium Inc.
The FBI found two hair samples in Cooper’s seat: one strand of limb hair and one strand of brown head hair. The limb hair was destroyed because it lacked unique features for identification, but the head hair was preserved for future testing. In 2002, the FBI lost the hair sample during DNA testing.
In the ashtray of seat 18-E, FBI agents found eight cigarette butts from Raleigh brand cigarettes. The butts were sent to the FBI lab, but no fingerprints were found, and they were returned to the Las Vegas office. In 1998, the FBI tried to extract DNA from the butts but found they had been destroyed while in the Las Vegas office’s custody.
On February 10, 1980, an 8-year-old boy named Brian Ingram found three bundles of cash near Tina Bar on the Columbia River. The money, totaling about $5,800, had been bundled with rubber bands and was confirmed to be part of the ransom. The bills had broken down from exposure to the environment but remained in the same order as when Cooper received them.
Scientists debated where the money came from. Some believed it washed into the river naturally, while others thought it was buried. A hydrologist noted the bills were "matted together," suggesting they were carried by river currents rather than buried. This supported the idea Cooper landed near the Washougal River, not in Lake Merwin or other areas.
Geological evidence suggested the bills arrived at Tina Bar after 1974, when dredging work was done on the river. Layers of sand and sediment showed the money was buried long after the dredging ended.
In 1986, Brian Ingram and Northwest Orient Airlines’s insurance company split the recovered money. The FBI kept 14 bills as evidence. Ingram later sold 15 of his bills for about $37,000 in 2008. Analysis of diatoms on the bills in 2020 showed the money was not submerged in the river or buried dry at the time of the hijacking in 1971. Only diatoms that bloom in spring were found, meaning the money entered the water several months after the hijacking.
During the hijacking, Cooper received two main parachutes and two reserve parachutes. The main parachutes were provided by a pilot named Norman Hayden, and the reserve parachutes came from a skydiving school. A parachute rigger named Earl Cossey packed all four parachutes. He described the main parachutes as emergency bailout parachutes, similar to military ones, because they opened automatically and could not be steered. When the plane landed in Reno, FBI agents found one reserve parachute and one main parachute left behind. The reserve parachute had been used, with three shroud lines cut, but the main parachute remained intact.
Theories, hypotheses and conjecture
During the 45 years the FBI investigated the case, they sometimes shared their early ideas and possible conclusions based on witness statements and limited physical evidence.
In the first year of the investigation, the FBI used descriptions from passengers and flight crew to create a drawing of D.B. Cooper. The first sketch, called Composite A, was made a few days after the hijacking and released on November 28, 1971. Witnesses joked that Composite A looked like the singer Bing Crosby, as it did not resemble Cooper well. They said the sketch showed a young man with a narrow face and did not capture Cooper’s calm, uninterested expression. Flight attendant Florence Schaffner told the FBI Composite A was a poor likeness of Cooper.
After many witnesses said Composite A was not accurate, FBI artists created a second sketch, Composite B, in late 1972. This sketch aimed to better show Cooper’s age, skin tone, and face shape. Witnesses said Composite B was more accurate but looked too angry or rough. One flight attendant said the sketch resembled a "hoodlum" and noted Cooper appeared more refined. Witnesses also said Composite B showed a man older than Cooper with lighter skin.
Using feedback about Composite B, FBI artists improved the sketch. On January 2, 1973, the FBI finalized the revised Composite B, their third sketch of Cooper. One flight attendant said the revised sketch looked very similar to Cooper, while another said the hijacker would be easily recognized from it. In April 1973, the FBI concluded the revised Composite B was the best likeness they could create and considered it the official sketch of Cooper.
Flight attendants Florence Schaffner and Mucklow, who spent the most time with Cooper, gave nearly identical descriptions: a man in his mid-40s, about 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) to 6 feet (1.83 m) tall, weighing 170 to 180 pounds (77 to 82 kg), with olive-toned skin, brown eyes, short black hair, and no noticeable accent. University of Oregon student Bill Mitchell, who sat across from Cooper during the flight, gave the FBI detailed descriptions that became part of Composite Sketch B. Mitchell described Cooper as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) to 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall. Since Mitchell was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, he said he was much taller than Cooper and called him "slight." Robert Gregory, another passenger who described Cooper, also said he was about 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall. Gregory believed Cooper might be of Mexican American or Native American descent.
In May 1973, the FBI released an eight-page suspect profile. It suggested Cooper was a military-trained parachutist, not a sports skydiver. Cooper’s knowledge of military parachutes and his age made him unlikely to be a typical skydiver. Witnesses described Cooper as athletic, leading the FBI to think he likely exercised regularly.
FBI experts believed Cooper was a U.S. Air Force veteran familiar with Seattle and the surrounding area. Cooper correctly identified Tacoma as the plane circled Puget Sound and knew about McChord Air Force Base’s location near Sea-Tac Airport, details most civilians would not know. Cooper’s actions, such as his vocabulary, planning, and use of aviation terms, led the FBI to think he was intelligent, not impulsive, and a careful planner. He adapted well to situations and likely worked alone. The FBI thought Cooper’s financial situation was desperate, as most people who steal large sums of money do so out of urgent need. They dismissed the idea that Cooper was a "thrill seeker" who hijacked the plane just for the challenge.
Because Cooper spilled the only drink he was served and never asked for another, the FBI thought he was not a heavy drinker or alcoholic. An alcoholic would likely have been unable to refuse more drinks during the stressful hijacking. By counting the number of cigarettes Cooper smoked, the FBI estimated he smoked about one pack per day. Some believed Cooper’s name came from a fictional character named Dan Cooper, a test pilot in a popular comic book. Since these comics were not translated into English or sold in the U.S., some thought Cooper might have seen them during a European tour and spoke fluent French. The fact that the comics were popular in Quebec also led some to think Cooper might be French Canadian, as many Quebec residents speak English without an accent. This theory fits with Cooper’s use of the phrase "negotiable American currency," which suggests a non-U.S. background.
Based on evidence and Cooper’s tactics, the FBI thought he planned the hijacking carefully, using detailed knowledge of aviation, the local area, and the Boeing 727’s features. Cooper chose a seat in the last row of the rear cabin to observe the front, avoid being approached from behind, and stay unnoticed. He demanded four parachutes to make it seem like he might force hostages to jump with him. Cooper’s choice of a bomb instead of other weapons used by hijackers helped prevent others from rushing him.
Cooper was careful to avoid leaving evidence. Before jumping, he asked flight attendant Mucklow to return any notes he had written or received. Mucklow used the last match from his matchbook to light a cigarette and tried to throw the matchbook away, but Cooper made her return it. Although Cooper tried to retrieve all evidence, he left his clip-on tie in his seat. Cooper knew the Boeing 727’s features well, and the plane’s design, including its aft airstair and engine placement, was a key reason he chose it.
Suspects
Between 1971 and 2016, the FBI investigated over 1,000 people who were considered serious suspects in the case, including some who sought attention and others who confessed to crimes near the end of their lives.
Theodore Burdette Braden Jr. (1928–2007) was a U.S. Special Forces soldier during the Vietnam War, a skilled skydiver, and a person convicted of breaking the law. Many people in the Special Forces community believed he was the person who hijacked an airplane in 1971, both at the time of the hijacking and in later years. Braden was born in Ohio and joined the military in 1944 at age 16, serving with the 101st Airborne during World War II. He became one of the military’s top parachutists, competing in international skydiving tournaments and making 911 jumps, as recorded in his military files. In the 1960s, Braden worked as a team leader in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG), a secret unit of Green Berets that carried out special operations in Vietnam. He also taught military skydiving techniques, including high-altitude jumps, to members of Project DELTA. Braden spent 23 months in Vietnam, working on classified missions in North and South Vietnam, as well as in Laos and Cambodia.
In December 1966, Braden left his military unit in Vietnam without permission and traveled to the Congo to work as a mercenary. He was arrested by CIA agents and returned to the United States for a court-martial. Although deserting during wartime was a serious crime, Braden received an honorable discharge and was not allowed to rejoin the military in exchange for keeping the MACVSOG program a secret. In 1967, Braden was featured in a magazine article where a journalist described him as someone who often put himself in dangerous situations but avoided consequences. The article also noted that Braden was involved in secret deals to earn money during his time in Vietnam.
Little is known about Braden’s life after he left the military in 1967. At the time of the hijacking, he was working as a truck driver for Consolidated Freightways in Vancouver, Washington, near a location where the hijacker was believed to have dropped off the airplane. In the early 1970s, the FBI investigated Braden for allegedly stealing $250,000 through a trucking scheme but never charged him. In 1980, he was accused of transporting stolen goods from Arizona to Massachusetts, though it is unclear if he was convicted. In 1982, Braden was arrested in Pennsylvania for driving a stolen car with fake license plates and for not having a valid driver’s license. He was sent to federal prison in the late 1980s, though the exact reason for his imprisonment is unknown.
Despite his military skills, Braden was not well-liked by others. A family member described him as having high intelligence combined with a tendency to break rules. His military records list him as 5 feet 8 inches tall, which is slightly shorter than the height reported by two flight attendants who saw the hijacker. However, his military measurements were taken without shoes, and he may have appeared taller when wearing them. Braden had a dark skin tone from years of outdoor work, short dark hair, an athletic build, and was 43 years old at the time of the hijacking, all of which matched descriptions of the hijacker.
In 2003, a man named Lyle Christiansen, from Minnesota, watched a documentary about the hijacking and believed his brother, Kenneth Christiansen (1926–1994), was the hijacker. Christiansen tried to convince the FBI and filmmaker Nora Ephron to investigate his brother but later hired a private investigator named Skipp Porteous. In 2010, Porteous wrote a book suggesting Kenneth Christiansen was the hijacker. A television show in 2011 reviewed evidence linking Kenneth Christiansen to the case.
Kenneth Christiansen joined the U.S. Army in 1944 and was trained as a paratrooper. He was deployed in 1945, but by then World War II had ended. He occasionally practiced jumps while stationed in Japan in the late 1940s. After leaving the military, he worked for Northwest Orient Airlines, starting as a laborer and later becoming a flight attendant and purser in Seattle.
Kenneth Christiansen was 45 years old when the hijacking occurred, but he was shorter (5 feet 8 inches) and thinner (150 pounds) than descriptions of the hijacker. He smoked, like the hijacker, and enjoyed drinking bourbon, which the hijacker had asked for. A flight attendant said photos of Kenneth Christiansen looked more like the hijacker than other suspects, but she could not confirm his identity. The FBI has not considered Kenneth Christiansen a strong suspect due to the mismatch in physical descriptions and a lack of direct evidence.
Bryant "Jack" Coffelt (1917–1975) was a fraudster, former criminal, and claimed to be a government informant who worked for Abraham Lincoln’s last known descendant. In 1972, Coffelt said he was the hijacker and tried to sell his story to a Hollywood company through a former prison friend. He claimed he landed near Mount Hood, about 50 miles from the suspected drop zone, and lost the ransom money. Photos of Coffelt resemble the composite sketches of the hijacker, though he was older in 1971. He was reportedly in Portland on the day of the hijacking and had leg injuries that could have come from a skydiving accident. The FBI reviewed his story and found it did not match known facts, concluding it was false. After Coffelt died in 1975, others continued to promote his claim, but media outlets like 60 Minutes rejected it.
Lynn Doyle "L. D." Cooper (1931–1999), a leatherworker and Korean War veteran, was suggested as a suspect in 2011 by his niece, Marla Cooper. At age eight, Marla remembered her uncle and another relative talking about a "very mischievous" plan involving "expensive walkie-talkies" at her grandmother’s home in Oregon. The next day, Flight 305 was hijacked. L. D. Cooper returned home wearing a bloody shirt, claiming it was from a car accident. Marla said her parents later believed her uncle was the hijacker. She also recalled that her uncle, who died in 1999, was fascinated by the Canadian co-…
Similar hijackings
Cooper was one of the first people to hijack an airplane for personal gain. Eleven days before Cooper's hijacking, a Canadian man named Paul Joseph Cini hijacked an Air Canada DC-8 over Montana. However, the crew overpowered him when he lowered his gun to put on a parachute. Inspired by Cooper's actions, 15 similar hijackings occurred in 1972. These hijackings involved demands for money and parachutes but were all unsuccessful. Five hijackers jumped from planes and landed safely but were later captured. Out of 31 total hijackings that year, 19 followed Cooper's method of demanding money.
In 1973, airports began checking all luggage, which greatly reduced the number of hijackings. No major hijackings like Cooper's happened until July 11, 1980, when Glenn K. Tripp took control of Northwest Orient Flight 608 at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. He demanded $600,000, two parachutes, and the assassination of his boss. A flight attendant added Valium to Tripp's drink, which helped authorities calm him. After a 10-hour standoff, Tripp reduced his demands to three cheeseburgers and a vehicle to escape. He was then captured.
Tripp tried to hijack the same flight again on January 21, 1983, and this time asked to be flown to Afghanistan. When the plane landed in Portland, FBI agents shot and killed him.
Aftermath
In 1972, even though the federal Sky Marshal program had started the year before, 31 hijackings occurred in U.S. airspace. Of these, 19 were committed to demand money. In 15 of those cases, hijackers also asked for parachutes. In early 1973, the FAA required airlines to search all passengers and their belongings. Although some lawsuits claimed these searches violated the right to be free from unfair searches, federal courts said the searches were allowed if applied equally and limited to checking for weapons and explosives. In 1973, only two hijackings were attempted, both by people with mental health issues. One hijacker, Samuel Byck, planned to crash an airplane into the White House to harm President Nixon.
Because of repeated hijackings in 1972, the FAA required all Boeing 727 planes to have a special device called the "Cooper vane" on their exterior. This device prevents the rear airstair from opening during flight. It has a flat aluminum blade attached to a pivot. When the plane is not moving, the blade stays out of the way, but during flight, it moves automatically to block the door. The device works on its own and cannot be controlled from inside the plane. Because of the hijacking, all cockpit doors were required to have peepholes, allowing pilots to see passengers without opening the door.
In 1978, the hijacked Boeing 727-100 was sold by Northwest Orient to Piedmont Airlines. It was re-registered as N838N and used for domestic flights. In 1984, the plane was bought by Key Airlines, re-registered as N29KA, and used by the Air Force to transport workers between Nellis Air Force Base and the Tonopah Test Range during the F-117 Nighthawk development program. In 1996, the plane was scrapped for parts in a Memphis aircraft boneyard.
The flight crew praised Mucklow for her actions. She continued working for the airline for several years. She lived privately and gave only a few interviews after 2021.
In popular culture
Himmelsbach called Cooper a "rotten sleazy crook," but his daring and unusual crime sparked a large group of fans who showed their interest through songs, movies, and books. Stores sold T-shirts with the words "D. B. Cooper, Where Are You?" Restaurants and bowling alleys in the Pacific Northwest often held events and sold souvenirs related to Cooper. A celebration called "Cooper Day" took place every November at the Ariel General Store and Tavern from 1974 until 2015, when the bar closed after the owner, Dona Elliott, passed away.
An event named CooperCon happens every year in late November in Seattle, Washington. The gathering, started by Cooper researcher Eric Ulis in 2018, brings together people who study Cooper and those who are interested in his story. It was first held in Vancouver, Washington, but moved to Seattle in 2023.