Sunday, February 18, 2018

D. B. Cooper

It was a pleasant afternoon at Portland International Airport on November 24, 1971. Northwest Airlines Flight #305 was ready to depart for Seattle. It was a Boeing 727 plane. The last passenger to board the plane was a gentleman by the name of D.B. Cooper. He looked like a business executive with his suit and tie. Before entering the aircraft, he asked an airline employee if this was a Boeing 727. The airline employee said in the affirmative.
 
While in the air, Cooper gave a handwritten note to the flight attendant. The note said he had a bomb in his briefcase and demanded $200,000 (today’s value $1.3 million) in 20 dollar bills and 4 parachutes. The flight attendant informed the pilot. The pilot informed the tower and they informed the FBI.
 
The plane landed in Seattle and came to a halt in the middle of the runway. D.B. Cooper said passengers will be allowed to leave the plane only after he gets his money and parachutes.
 
The FBI consulted with the airline. The airline thought the passengers are more important than the money and therefore agreed to give the $200,000 and 4 parachutes to D.B Cooper. They were delivered inside the plane and then D.B. Cooper let the passengers leave the plane.
 
Now there were three pilots and one flight attendant still on the plane with Cooper. The plane then took off from the runway. Cooper ordered the plane to go to Mexico City. The pilot said the plane cannot fly nonstop to Mexico City and has to refuel in Reno, Nevada. Cooper agreed. He told the pilots to go at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour and only fly below the 10,000 feet altitude. He also ordered that the cabin should not be pressurized.
 
20 minutes after takeoff, Cooper sent the flight attendant to the cockpit and ordered her not to come outside. Cooper then donned the parachute, tied the money onto himself, went to the rear of the plane, opened the rear stairwell, and jumped.
 
When the plane landed in Reno, Nevada, there was no Cooper on the plane. No money on the plane. He was never captured. Almost 50 years later, it’s still a mystery as to what happened to D.B. Cooper. The only skyjacking that was never solved.
 
Side bar: I mentioned above, while boarding the plane Cooper asked an airline employee if the plane was a Boeing 727. According to experts, the 727 is the only passenger plane that can be used to parachute out safely. Looks like Cooper did his homework.
 
PS: He was a classy guy too.  Before taking off with the money and parachutes from Seattle airport, he ordered food for the 3 pilots and the flight attendant and made sure they ate their dinner.

26 comments:

  1. WOW! What an amazing true life story!
    The only SKY-jacking where they never found the guy.
    Thousands of people searched for him in the last 50 years, and still no one knows what happened to him.

    Sounds like D.B. Cooper was an awesome, classy, and brilliant man…whoever he might be.

    Regards,
    Robert Rackstraw

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    1. Thanks for your comments Bob. You just stumped me with your comment. I know you are a Vietnam war veteran. And FBI thought you are the real DBCooper who escaped with $200,000. I don't know. I give up. I am not a Cooperite.

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    2. I can't believe they let Robert Rackstraw get away.
      That guy is D.B. Cooper!!!!
      He just slipped through their fingers like Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects.

      Regards,
      The Real Keyser Söze

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    3. Thanks for your comments Keyser. I see your initials are KS. Are you the real Kevin Spacey?

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  2. Interesting Read SG.... are you getting ideas from who posted this? as D. B. Cooper commented on your last blog??....

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    1. Thanks for your comments Dee. When did I take ideas from other people or listened to other people's advice? I have never done that. In the last blog post, Mr. KP complemented me about writing a blog post about that dare-devil. I replied him I will write my next blog post about another dare-devil.

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  3. Very interesting Story. Not able to believe that they were not able to capture him later... even the mighty US slips:)

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. Some in FBI believe he died while parachuting or on landing. But again his body was never found.

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  4. I was on my toes until I read the last line. And I was relieved that the SKY-jacker left everyone alive. He is very intelligent but I appreciate him for valuing other person's life.

    Thanks for the unique topics you choose to share with us. They are really enjoyable and make us think.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sindhu. And, I really appreciate your complements.

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  5. Reads like a script for a thriller film. Whatever, the guy seemed to have accomplished the job with finesse and graciously too.Like Prof Moriarty the mastermind criminal , these people evoke awe and sneaking admiration for the slick ways they commit crimes.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Mr. KP. Indeed very slick way to commit a crime.

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  6. I think chances are good that he might have died on landing. Or, if he was a professional paratrooper, he might have escaped too. These stories are very interesting, keep them coming :)

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. We never know if he escaped or died on landing. If I read another incident like this, I will certainly write about it.

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  7. Wow! what an interesting story, really enjoyed it.

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  8. wow very interesting. I had no idea about this until you mentioned. You gather some of the most interesting stories from history SG.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Ashwini. Glad you liked this post.

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  9. Really? That was an interesting story ! I wonder if he survived the jump!

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    1. Thanks for your comments Radha. Happy to see you here after a long time. We never know if he survived or not.

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  10. There was a time when hijacking of planes was common, and I used to read a lot about them. One great thriller, you know SG, was the hijack of Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris in 1976. It was flown to Entebbe airport in Uganda, and the Israeli commandos stormed the plane. It's a famous book and movie too - Ninety Minutes at Entebbe Airport.
    I remember reading about D B Cooper too. It's a bizarre hijack incident, and surely one of its kind. It's an absolute mystery thriller. This also has been made into a movie: The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper
    By the way, I am just wondering why you posted this.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Pradeep. Yes, it was a daring rescue operation at the Entebbe Airport by the Israeli commandos. I have seen the movie “Raid on Entebbe” (starring Charles Bronson) quite a few times.

      My last post was about the Alcatraz Prison. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and new information became available, I wrote about it. Some readers asked me to write another post on this type of dare-devil incident. I am now in Seattle for a few months temporarily and therefore I thought of writing about D.B. Cooper.

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  11. Wow! That's an interesting story!!
    Wonder if there's a movie on this real life story!

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  12. A real story in a detective manner. Had Cooper utilized his wonderful brain in the right way, his family and he and his country would have benefitted from that.Nice.

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  13. Colbert ,Sleuths or anybody doesn't have proof D.B.Cooper?1.Picture Dewinters/Rackstraw look a like Picture?2.Pix of Dewinters/Rackstraw with brief case - Bag -Holding D.B.Cooper Ranson Money?3.Pix of Dewinters/Rackstraw in vicinity of airports 1971?
    4.Documents (stamped) prove Dewinters/Rackstraw in the
    vicinity of Airports - Portand or Washington State?
    5.Documents /Bank Statements prove Dewinters/Rackstraw
    had $200,ooo Dollars (d.b.cooper ranson money) ?
    6.No proof of Dewinters/Rackstraw having Krugerrands?
    7.No picture Dewinters/Rackstraw with Dick Briggs?
    8.Documents prove that Dick Briggs with Dewinters/Rackstraw?9.Recepts Dewinters / Rackstraw spent $200,ooo for somethingduring 1971 and 1972 (follow money -where did it went?) ?10.Passengers (Nobody) on the Plane took pix D.B.Cooper?11.Passengers (Nobody) on the Plane took glass cooper used?12.Passengers (Nobody) on the Plane took cig butt cooper used?13.Passengers (Nobody) on the Plane took item that Cooper used,owned ,that belonged to D.B. Cooper ( evidence who he is ) ?14.Jim Shell and Dick Briggs drug dealer and Druggadicts -how much
    is their word worth - because addiction affected their brains?15.Colbert put words into Bob Sister Linda Rackstraw Loduca?16.Dewinter in Astoria and Cornvallis california beg food/money?17.People bought into stranger story Dewinter rich Swiss who was beg for money ,Food , place to lay his head ?18.Stewardess Florence Schaffner & Tina Mucklow maybe Mary Hancock -but they can't be for certain -memory is faulty?19.So who shot Philip Rackstraw in head on his land ?20.If Rackstraw De Winters is same man wouldnt he of hid the_ on the Valley Springs Calilfornia family home where he was Supposedly staying for 18 months after he was dismiss from military
    service ?21.All have Hearsay -Nobody -coraborate -beyond shadow doubt?

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  14. colbert cold case team of former _ _ _ & former authorities.
    While they were able to do the case while work for gov't they
    didn't solve the case but now that they are retired they think
    they have solved the case.In the 1970s didn't know nothing
    about D N A being said that means they did not handle the
    evidence in proper way the evidence was handled carelessly.
    So the Evidence gathered was contaminated in one way or
    another .So if the _ _ _ had lick stamps /Lick enveloped
    it may have other people that have handled them be on the
    Dna as well as the sniffin dogs smelling for _ on the plane?
    Our agency did not make a mistake it only used what it had
    at it disposal in 1971.But now 2018 agency has scientific
    techniques at their disposal they did not have back then .

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