The D.B. Cooper Mystery Lives On
_
Just over
40 years ago, on the night of November 24, 1971, a legend was born. A
man later to become known across the nation as D.B. Cooper became the
first and only person to ever hijack an airplane and get away with
it. No arrest has ever been made. To this day, no one truly knows who
the hijacker is. In honor of his recent anniversary, let us take a
look back at the decisions that D.B. Cooper made which led to his
legendary status as one of the best criminals of all time.
There were three major factors that led to Mr. Cooper's success. First, his initial approach to his plan was impeccable. He managed to notify the flight attendant that he had a bomb on the plane without causing a major panic. He did this simply by slipping her a note with a clear message. I have a bomb and I am not afraid to use it. This is key to the plan because if a panic had been caused, chaos would have ensued. In such a situation, D.B. Cooper's plan would have been completely foiled. Instead, his plan remained on schedule.
His second major decision was the limitations that he placed on the plane after collecting his ransom money. Mr. Cooper was well aware of the fact that his plane was being very closely watched and followed. In fact, he had even planned for this. During the beginning of take off, D.B. Cooper informed the pilot of several restrictions. Most importantly, the plane was restricted to a lower speed and lower height than accustomed to. This was genius as the plane was going so slow at such a low altituded that the government jets had issues following. Instead, they had to constantly pass and lap the plane, causing some surveillance problems. His final instructions to the pilot was to lower the landing gear, leading to his next and final decision.
No one visibly noticed the next part of the story, however with the recollection of those remaining on the plane along with simple logic, D.B. Cooper's next move was obvious. Possibly his most insane yet brilliant decision, Mr. Cooper jumped out of the plane with a parachute and all of the ransom money. The rest, as they say, is history. No one knows what happened to the hijacker next. Perhaps he died on his descent. Or perhaps a much more exciting conclusion, the hijacker survived and is living a life that some would say is well earned. There is no doubt that hours of planning went into the crime after all. One thing is for sure, no one knows who or where D.B. Cooper is.
There were three major factors that led to Mr. Cooper's success. First, his initial approach to his plan was impeccable. He managed to notify the flight attendant that he had a bomb on the plane without causing a major panic. He did this simply by slipping her a note with a clear message. I have a bomb and I am not afraid to use it. This is key to the plan because if a panic had been caused, chaos would have ensued. In such a situation, D.B. Cooper's plan would have been completely foiled. Instead, his plan remained on schedule.
His second major decision was the limitations that he placed on the plane after collecting his ransom money. Mr. Cooper was well aware of the fact that his plane was being very closely watched and followed. In fact, he had even planned for this. During the beginning of take off, D.B. Cooper informed the pilot of several restrictions. Most importantly, the plane was restricted to a lower speed and lower height than accustomed to. This was genius as the plane was going so slow at such a low altituded that the government jets had issues following. Instead, they had to constantly pass and lap the plane, causing some surveillance problems. His final instructions to the pilot was to lower the landing gear, leading to his next and final decision.
No one visibly noticed the next part of the story, however with the recollection of those remaining on the plane along with simple logic, D.B. Cooper's next move was obvious. Possibly his most insane yet brilliant decision, Mr. Cooper jumped out of the plane with a parachute and all of the ransom money. The rest, as they say, is history. No one knows what happened to the hijacker next. Perhaps he died on his descent. Or perhaps a much more exciting conclusion, the hijacker survived and is living a life that some would say is well earned. There is no doubt that hours of planning went into the crime after all. One thing is for sure, no one knows who or where D.B. Cooper is.