FBI Closes D.B. Cooper Investigation After 45 Years (oregonlive.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it is no longer investigating the unsolved mystery of D.B. Cooper. The bureau said Tuesday that it's "exhaustively reviewed all credible leads" during its 45-year investigation and has redirected those resources to other priorities. The investigation was of a man calling himself Dan Cooper (the media mistakenly called him D.B. Cooper and it stuck) who hijacked a Boeing 727 headed for Seattle after boarding at Portland International Airport on November 24, 1971. In Seattle, he claimed he had an explosive device and demanded parachutes and $200,000 in ransom money. After releasing the 36 passengers from the plane and receiving four parachutes and $200,000 in cash, Cooper ordered several of the crew members who were kept on board to fly to Mexico City. Shortly after returning to the air, Cooper jumped from the back of the plane and landed somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. No trace of Cooper was found, but several bundles of cash were found in 1980. The FBI says it has conducted searches, collected all available evidence and interviewed all identifiable witnesses, but none have resulted in identifying the hijacker.

Comments

Thanks for the concise summary

[guises]

I've heard the name D.B. Cooper a number of times before (on Newsradio, among other places) but had always thought that I was missing something about the story, since it just sounded like someone who stole some money. "What was the big deal?" I said to myself.

I appreciate the concise summary, since most times I've tried to look this up the articles just go on and on about it... "What was the big deal?" I would say as I read them, but this was the one question which they were apparently unwilling to answer. Turns out it wasn't a big deal, just a bunch of news fluff. Thanks for finally settling that for me.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[Ihlosi]

This guy potentially hijacked a plane, got 200 grand in cash then got away, 45 years later they have GIVEN UP TRYING TO FIND HIM.

What's the statute of limitations on the crimes the guy allegedly committed?

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[AthanasiusKircher]

I appreciate the concise summary, since most times I've tried to look this up the articles just go on and on about it... "What was the big deal?" I would say as I read them, but this was the one question which they were apparently unwilling to answer. Turns out it wasn't a big deal, just a bunch of news fluff.

"Wasn't a big deal"??

A guy hijacks a plane under threat of an (apparent) bomb, takes over a million dollars in cash (in today's dollars) in exchange for hostages, and then parachutes out, and this "wasn't a big deal"?

Even if your standards of "big deal" are low enough that this wouldn't seem noteworthy, the case is also notable for the roughly 15 copycat hijackings it caused within the next year (also people extorting money on planes, requesting parachutes, etc.).

Ultimately, this case (and the copycats) led to the institution of universal luggage searching on flights, the first step down the slippery slope to voiding the 4th amendment as we've seen with the TSA in recent years. Arguably, these cursory searches (for bombs, other explosive devices, and major weapons) were necessary to prevent the nearly weekly hijackings that were going on. But if nothing else, this case is notable for a string of hijackings contributing to setting us on that path. (Note there were other high-profile incidents requesting passage to Cuba that also contributed to the new search policy, but weekly demands for million-dollar ransoms must have also made an impact.)

Also, obligatory xkcd.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[swb]

It was always big from a "mystery" perspective, but the circumstances of his jump have always made it extremely unlikely that he survived -- jumping into -70F windchill air, into a wilderness area, at night, without anything more protective than a suit and raincoat.

The big mysteries seem to be identifying who he was and what happened to the body, parachute and the money. Some decayed packets of money were found, but that seems to lead more credence to the theory that the jump/landing/escape was a failure.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[Anonymous Coward]

He bailed at 10000 feet so any wind chill would have been very brief and -70F is an exaggeration of the temperature extreme. This guy meticulously planned every step of this adventure so I doubt he didn't have several different bail out locations planned in advance. The small packet of money found years later could have also been left behind on purpose to keep searchers in a single location while giving himself more time to put more distance between him and the searchers.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[Zocalo]

Further, given the obviously meticulous planning, don't you think it likely he might also have considered what to wear during the jump and maximise the chances of a safe landing? He could quite easily have brought more appropriate clothing than what the crew and passengers saw him wearing and changed once he was alone in the cabin prior to the actual jump, taking everything else like his coat along for the ride to remove evidence - he even took back the note he passed the stewardess afterall. Still, given that none of the bank notes have ever been identified apart from those three bundles and there has been no plausible death bed confessions or similar, either he managed to pass them into circulation very carefully (a few at a time in overseas bureau de change, perhaps?) which seems unlikely, or he did indeed die in the attempt.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[swb]

Assuming he survived the jump (using one of the oldest of the 4 parachutes he got) in what amounts to ordinary street clothes, how does he survive a hike out of the wilderness in November in a raincoat and loafers, likely at least pretty damp if not wet from atmospheric condensation? Even if he landed completely dry, you're talking a high risk of hypothermia dressed that way in November navigating miles of wilderness.

However well he planned it, there's no way he managed to hit a narrow drop zone where he might have staged survival gear -- his potential drop zone would have been miles wide jumping in the dark and without any decent navigational clues as to where to jump.

The larger mystery is why his body or chute were never found, but these seem more likely to be side effects of a potentially large search area than a successful landing and evasion.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got a friend with 4000+ jumps under his belt, and he was part of an exhibition jump back in the 80's in which 100 skydivers recreated this jump (same height, velocity, equipment, but not at night). He tells me that the older equipment would actually be better for this type of jump into a forested region, because those old chutes had a much lower lateral velocity. He believes at night it would be survivable, but would carry the risk that the jumper wouldn't have great control over precisely where they came down if he had some specific location in mind to reach. He adds that the 100 jumpers, given dispersion and the time to get them all out the air stairs, were spread out over 15 miles.

Re:Thanks for the concise summary

[Areyoukiddingme]

He also used a parachute to escape and had a lot of knowledge on how to actually open a commercial airlines doors IN FLIGHT.

From wikipedia: ...

Given all that, it's fairly obvious. D.B. Cooper was an ex-CIA agent arranging his own retirement. Guess the pension wasn't enough for his taste.

If they want to solve it...

[Ecuador]

If they want to solve it, they just need to issue a pardon. I mean, other people steal millions via various (much less "direct") means and just hide for a few years for the statute of limitations and they are free (rich) men. For this guy, who I'd say really "worked" for it, they started prosecution in absentia so that he can be caught at any time in the future.
We don't care about the $200k he stole - in fact the cost of the investigation should have run up multiple times that - but the public wants to know if he made it! And whether it will be shot with IMAX cameras!

I did it

[k6mfw]

Jumped from a 727 at World FreeFall Convention in Quincy IL a few times during 1990s. They issued DB Cooper numbers with a certificate. Though not in order of who went out the back but in order of when 727 jump tickets were purchased. I got #54 in 1992, I also wore a black suit with thin black tie, sunglasses, wingtip shoes, and white socks. The "costume" got lots of laughs. When people ask, I answered, "sorry I lost the money but I put together a 4-way."

Unlike other jump planes, this was moving at 150 mph (flaps down) normally king airs and otters move about 90 or 100. So when hitting the air out the air stair you get instant control. Some jumpers of more skill exit into a track position and are able to rise just above level of the 727 tail.

One year Bernie Rhodes who wrote a book about Richard McCoy who did same as DB Cooper, same MO and jumped with $500K but caught few days later. I got his autograph and picture with him in my DB Cooper costume. Mentioned in this book was McCoy had problem with $500K, that's a lot of cash that has to be hidden someplace in or around his house (not as easy as you think). Of course I'm thinking $200K, $500K or even One Million Dollars is not a lot these days. The book was very compelling, Bernie Rhodes a DOJ probation officer at the time felt McCoy would have probably confessed he was DB, McCoy died shortly after when escaped from prison. Supposably Rhodes theory didn't hold up because FBI got evidence of a phone call made by McCoy from another city while DB hijacked his 727.

Bernie Rhodes also said many prisoners in captive would come forward confessing they were DB Cooper. Bernie would ask questions like what kind of tie clasp did they wear and other details not in the media. Huh, why would anyone confess to a serious crime like a skyjack. Bernie said many of these people were in prison for more serious crimes, skyjacking would be less punishment (I'm still confused how it can be less).

Also back in 1990s there was a downtown lounge (loud music and very crowded) called DB Cooper with a manniquen as DB hanging from the ceiling. Those were the days when we laughed about airplane hijackings.