The Unsolved Mystery of D.B. Cooper's Plane Hijacking

TLDR D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded a ransom of $200,000, and then jumped out of the plane with the money and parachutes. Despite an extensive search and investigation, his true identity and fate remain unknown, making it the only unsolved airplane hijacking in history.

Timestamped Summary

00:00 A man named Dan Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000, and then jumped out of the plane with the money.
01:36 A man named Dan Cooper hijacked a short flight between Portland and Seattle, showing a flight attendant a bomb and demanding $200,000 in cash, four parachutes, and a fuel truck.
03:09 During the hijacking, the flight circled over Puget Sound for two hours while the CEO of Northwest Orient Airlines approved the $200,000 ransom and arranged for parachutes and a fuel truck to be delivered.
04:41 Cooper's specific instructions for the pilot included keeping the landing gear down, the cabin unpressurized, and flying as slow as possible to Mexico City, but they had to make a fuel stop in Reno, Nevada, where Cooper jumped out of the plane with the money and parachutes, turning the hijacking into a media sensation.
06:12 Despite an extensive search and investigation, no evidence or trace of D.B. Cooper, the hijacker who jumped out of the plane with the money and parachutes, was ever found, leaving his disappearance a mystery.
07:44 Despite the limited evidence recovered over the years, including instructions for lowering the aft door of a Boeing 727, packs of money matching the ransom, and possible traces of the backpack and parachute straps, the true identity and fate of D.B. Cooper remains unknown, leading to the growth of his legend and various theories surrounding the case.
09:17 The D.B. Cooper case led to changes in airplane security, but it remains the only unsolved airplane hijacking in history.
Categories: History Education

Browse more History