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D.B. Cooper: The Bigfoot of the Northwest
On November 24, 1971, a man later to be known as the infamous D.B. Cooper, successfully hijacked an American plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). To this day, he is the only hijacker of an American airplane to never be caught according to Jonsson. Over 17 books and even one movie has been written about D.B. Cooper (The 40-Year Mystery). There have even been over 1000 suspects who have fit the profile of D.B. Cooper (The 40-Year Mystery). One writer summed it up best, saying "As one person told me, Cooper is the Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest" (The 40-Year Mystery). D.B. Cooper is the one and only man to apparently successfully hijack an American airplane. Throughout this paper, it will be shown exactly what happened on the fateful day of Novermber 24, 1971, including why Mr. Cooper was successful. D.B. Cooper's crime is still unsolved because of three major factors: his detailed planning of the day in question, the execution of his plan, and the absurd number of people confessing to be the real D.B. Cooper.
D.B. Cooper's in depth planning of his elusive feat was a crucial factor to his success on that fatheful day. Every move he made was calculated. Every decision he made had a purpose. This all started from the moment he bought his plane ticket. On November 24, 1971, a man identified himself as D.B. Cooper and bought a twenty dollar one-way ticket from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington (The 40-Year Mystery). Described as a middle-aged man in a suit and dark glasses, the man then boarded a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 Flight 305 ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws) along with 36 other passengers ("D.B. Cooper – Mysteries). It was here where Mr. Cooper's plan finally began to reveal itself. The National Post reports that shortly after 3 PM, Mr. Cooper handed a note over to a nearby stewardess. The note read "I have a bomb in my briefcase, I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hyjacked" ("The 40-year Mystery). He then showed the stewardist an open briefcase full of what appeared to be an assortment of wires and colored sticks, something that could easily pass as a bomb ("The D.B. Cooper Story). The combination of the note and briefcase was brilliant. D.B. Cooper knew that he did not even need to bring an actual bomb onto the plane in order to fool the stewardess, instead, he just needed something that would pass as convincing. Mr. Cooper then proceeded to ask for two hundred thousand dollars in twenty dollar bills, along with four parachutes, or he would blow up the plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). His brilliance shined once again as he demanded that the plane be landed at a specific airport located in Seattle ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Before the plane could land though, D.B. Cooper demanded that his requests be ready ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Because of his specific demands, the police were limited in the actions that they could take. With this added twist, police forces did not have time to mark the cash ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). The police also did not dare tamper with any of the parachutes in case Mr. Cooper thought to make a hostage jump with one of the parachutes ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Throughout the beginning of this hijacking, it is clear that D.B. Cooper entered this plane with a plan. The next question is, can he execute that plan all the way to the very end?
Not only did D.B. Cooper's brilliant planning prove succesful, but so did the execution of his scheme. Once the plane lands at 5:40 PM, Mr. Cooper lets everybody off of the plane except for two crew members, a stewardess, and the pilot ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). After receiveing the parachutes and the money, along with the plane being refueled, D.B. Cooper instructed the pilot to direct the plane towards Reno, Nevada at a speed of one hundred fifty knots per hour at only ten thousand feet or lower. He also instructed the pilot to keep the landing gear down and to keep the cabin unpressurized ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). As crazy as this may seem, all of it had a purpose. He told the pilot to go slow in order to make the plane harder to follow by military jets ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). He kept the cabin unpressurized so the pilot would not dare go above ten thousand feet ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Finally, he kept the altitude below ten thousand feet and the landing gear down to do one thing only. To jump out of the plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Once the plane got to ten thousand feet, D.B. Cooper locked the crew in the cockpit, and that was the last that was ever seen of him ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Every single one of his instructions came with a purpose, even if it seemed ridiculous at the time. Mr. Cooper jumped out into southwest Washington, into ridiculous conditions, including freezing rain and a seventy mile per hour wind ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). In the final steps of his plan, D.B. Cooper executed his plan to perfection, but there is something else that also plays a key role into his success. Everybody seems to think that they know the real D.B. Cooper.
The fact that many people continue to bring up more and more suspects for the crime has allowed the real D.B. Cooper to escape. According to Pierre and Cloherty, Marla Cooper is one of many people that have come forward to claim that they know who the real D.B. Cooper is. Marla Cooper claimed that her uncle, L.D. Cooper, was the real D.B. Cooper (Jonsson). Ms. Cooper claimed that her two uncles were planning something mysterious at a Thanksgiving party, but she was shocked when her uncle L.D. returned (Jonsson). Marla claimed that L.D. Cooper arrived later that day with massive injuries, claiming to have been in a car accident (Pierre and Cloherty). She describes it in detail saying "My uncle L.D. was wearing a white t-shirt and he was bloody and bruised and a mess, and I was horrified" (Pierre and Cloherty). Pierre and Cloherty report that, for Marla, the main evidence was when she heard him say "We did it, our money problems are over, we hijacked an airplane." Accordeing to Marla's testimony, this seems like an obvious choice. Her uncle is clearly the real D.B. Cooper.Although L.D. Cooper has not been ruled out, there is unfortunately no evidence to verify that he is in fact the hijacker (Pierre and Cloherty). This is merely one of many people that have either confessed to be D.B. Cooper or have been suspects. This constant supply of possible suspects has allowed the real D.B. Cooper to elude detection.
Because of three major areas, his planning, execution, and many false claims, the true identity of D.B. Cooper will for now and forever remain a mystery. Throughout the beginning of the flight, D.B. Cooper showed in many different areas how his brilliant planning would pay off. During the end of his time on the flight, D.B. Cooper executed his plan to perfection. Finally, after the entire event is over, the overwhelming amount of people claiming to be the real D.B. Cooper has kept his true identity a secret. We will probably never find any more evidence of who D.B. Cooper really is, truly making him the "Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest" (The 40-Year Mystery).
On November 24, 1971, a man later to be known as the infamous D.B. Cooper, successfully hijacked an American plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). To this day, he is the only hijacker of an American airplane to never be caught according to Jonsson. Over 17 books and even one movie has been written about D.B. Cooper (The 40-Year Mystery). There have even been over 1000 suspects who have fit the profile of D.B. Cooper (The 40-Year Mystery). One writer summed it up best, saying "As one person told me, Cooper is the Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest" (The 40-Year Mystery). D.B. Cooper is the one and only man to apparently successfully hijack an American airplane. Throughout this paper, it will be shown exactly what happened on the fateful day of Novermber 24, 1971, including why Mr. Cooper was successful. D.B. Cooper's crime is still unsolved because of three major factors: his detailed planning of the day in question, the execution of his plan, and the absurd number of people confessing to be the real D.B. Cooper.
D.B. Cooper's in depth planning of his elusive feat was a crucial factor to his success on that fatheful day. Every move he made was calculated. Every decision he made had a purpose. This all started from the moment he bought his plane ticket. On November 24, 1971, a man identified himself as D.B. Cooper and bought a twenty dollar one-way ticket from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington (The 40-Year Mystery). Described as a middle-aged man in a suit and dark glasses, the man then boarded a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 Flight 305 ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws) along with 36 other passengers ("D.B. Cooper – Mysteries). It was here where Mr. Cooper's plan finally began to reveal itself. The National Post reports that shortly after 3 PM, Mr. Cooper handed a note over to a nearby stewardess. The note read "I have a bomb in my briefcase, I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hyjacked" ("The 40-year Mystery). He then showed the stewardist an open briefcase full of what appeared to be an assortment of wires and colored sticks, something that could easily pass as a bomb ("The D.B. Cooper Story). The combination of the note and briefcase was brilliant. D.B. Cooper knew that he did not even need to bring an actual bomb onto the plane in order to fool the stewardess, instead, he just needed something that would pass as convincing. Mr. Cooper then proceeded to ask for two hundred thousand dollars in twenty dollar bills, along with four parachutes, or he would blow up the plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). His brilliance shined once again as he demanded that the plane be landed at a specific airport located in Seattle ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Before the plane could land though, D.B. Cooper demanded that his requests be ready ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Because of his specific demands, the police were limited in the actions that they could take. With this added twist, police forces did not have time to mark the cash ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). The police also did not dare tamper with any of the parachutes in case Mr. Cooper thought to make a hostage jump with one of the parachutes ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Throughout the beginning of this hijacking, it is clear that D.B. Cooper entered this plane with a plan. The next question is, can he execute that plan all the way to the very end?
Not only did D.B. Cooper's brilliant planning prove succesful, but so did the execution of his scheme. Once the plane lands at 5:40 PM, Mr. Cooper lets everybody off of the plane except for two crew members, a stewardess, and the pilot ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). After receiveing the parachutes and the money, along with the plane being refueled, D.B. Cooper instructed the pilot to direct the plane towards Reno, Nevada at a speed of one hundred fifty knots per hour at only ten thousand feet or lower. He also instructed the pilot to keep the landing gear down and to keep the cabin unpressurized ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). As crazy as this may seem, all of it had a purpose. He told the pilot to go slow in order to make the plane harder to follow by military jets ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). He kept the cabin unpressurized so the pilot would not dare go above ten thousand feet ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Finally, he kept the altitude below ten thousand feet and the landing gear down to do one thing only. To jump out of the plane ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Once the plane got to ten thousand feet, D.B. Cooper locked the crew in the cockpit, and that was the last that was ever seen of him ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). Every single one of his instructions came with a purpose, even if it seemed ridiculous at the time. Mr. Cooper jumped out into southwest Washington, into ridiculous conditions, including freezing rain and a seventy mile per hour wind ("D. B. Cooper." Outlaws). In the final steps of his plan, D.B. Cooper executed his plan to perfection, but there is something else that also plays a key role into his success. Everybody seems to think that they know the real D.B. Cooper.
The fact that many people continue to bring up more and more suspects for the crime has allowed the real D.B. Cooper to escape. According to Pierre and Cloherty, Marla Cooper is one of many people that have come forward to claim that they know who the real D.B. Cooper is. Marla Cooper claimed that her uncle, L.D. Cooper, was the real D.B. Cooper (Jonsson). Ms. Cooper claimed that her two uncles were planning something mysterious at a Thanksgiving party, but she was shocked when her uncle L.D. returned (Jonsson). Marla claimed that L.D. Cooper arrived later that day with massive injuries, claiming to have been in a car accident (Pierre and Cloherty). She describes it in detail saying "My uncle L.D. was wearing a white t-shirt and he was bloody and bruised and a mess, and I was horrified" (Pierre and Cloherty). Pierre and Cloherty report that, for Marla, the main evidence was when she heard him say "We did it, our money problems are over, we hijacked an airplane." Accordeing to Marla's testimony, this seems like an obvious choice. Her uncle is clearly the real D.B. Cooper.Although L.D. Cooper has not been ruled out, there is unfortunately no evidence to verify that he is in fact the hijacker (Pierre and Cloherty). This is merely one of many people that have either confessed to be D.B. Cooper or have been suspects. This constant supply of possible suspects has allowed the real D.B. Cooper to elude detection.
Because of three major areas, his planning, execution, and many false claims, the true identity of D.B. Cooper will for now and forever remain a mystery. Throughout the beginning of the flight, D.B. Cooper showed in many different areas how his brilliant planning would pay off. During the end of his time on the flight, D.B. Cooper executed his plan to perfection. Finally, after the entire event is over, the overwhelming amount of people claiming to be the real D.B. Cooper has kept his true identity a secret. We will probably never find any more evidence of who D.B. Cooper really is, truly making him the "Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest" (The 40-Year Mystery).