Who was DB Cooper? Where did he go and is he dead or alive?
These are just some of the questions new Netflix documentary series DB Cooper: Where Are You? seeks to answer about this mysterious case. In 1971, a man identifying himself as Cooper hijacked a plane, forced it to land at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, picked-up his demands of four parachutes and $200,000 cash, and then flew to Nevada - only to parachute out of the aircraft, never to be seen again.
Fifty years on, the FBI may no longer pursue the case but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there who are trying to solve what is one of the greatest mysteries in American history. Before you watch it on TV, be warned that despite what you may have seen on Marvel's Loki series, Loki was not DB Cooper.
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The Netflix series details how Dan Cooper – the initials DB were a media creation, according to the FBI – appeared wearing a business suit and carrying a suitcase at the check-in desk of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon, on November 24, 1971. He paid in cash for a one-way ticket to Seattle, aboard Flight 305.
While he waited for take-off, Cooper ordered a bourbon and soda. Just after 3pm, once the plane was in the air, he passed the stewardess a note telling her he had packed a bomb in his briefcase. He showed her a glimpse of wires and red sticks inside to prove it.
She wrote his demands down and passed them to the captain – the man in seat 18C wanted four parachutes and $200,000. At Seattle, the 36 other passengers on board were swapped for the money and the plane took off again.
The flight took off for Mexico City, flying no higher than 10,000ft. Then, after 8pm, he jumped out of the aircraft above a wooded area and vanished forever.
The FBI never managed to establish who Cooper was or what happened to him. They described him as a nondescript and quiet man who appeared to be in his mid-40s.
The military was called in days after the hijacking and about 1,000 troops searched the suspected jump zone on foot and in helicopters. An SR-71 spy plane was sent in to photograph the flight path but there was no sign of Cooper.
Then, in 1980, a young boy named Brian Ingram was digging a fire pit in the sand at Tena Bar just north of Portland on the Columbia river. He found three bundles of cash inches below the surface. A total of $5,800 was there, with serial numbers matching the ransom bills.
The FBI searched and analysed the beach, the river was dredged and theories on how the money got there went into overdrive. In 2007, FBI agent Larry Carr released previously unknown facts about the case and the DB Cooper frenzy started anew.
As the Netflix series explores the 50-year mystery, here are some of the theories about who DB Cooper was and what happened to him.
DB Cooper was hijacker Richard Floyd McCoy
Five months after Cooper’s flight, Richard Floyd McCoy was arrested for a very similar aeroplane hijacking. He also escaped by parachute.
Cooper didn’t survive the jump from the plane
The FBI said: “The parachute he used couldn’t be steered, his clothing and footwear were unsuitable for a rough landing, and he had jumped into a wooded area at night - a dangerous proposition for a seasoned pro, which evidence suggests Cooper was not.”
DB Cooper was a flight attendant
Another suspect in the DB Cooper case was flight attendant Kenneth Christiansen. Christiansen had been a paratrooper and mechanic and was a flight attendant for Northwest Orient Airlines - the airline that Cooper targeted.
DB Cooper was a trans woman
Barbara Drayton was a librarian and skilled recreational pilot and parachutist. She claimed she'd carried out the hijacking two years after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
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