In all of American criminal history, there are a handful of cases that remain as mysterious as the legend of D.B. Cooper, the hijacker of a Northwest Orient Airlines Flight who parachuted into oblivion with $200,000 in cash
Legend has it that his name was misreported. The confusion seemingly stemmed from a reporter, James Long, working for the Oregon Journal. Long, in a moment of journalistic genius, managed to mishear Cooper’s name—blame it on a bad phone connection, blame it on the Northwest Airlines staff, or just blame it on the fact that 'Dan' sounds a bit too common for a man about to disappear with $200,000. Long ended up reporting the name as 'D.B. Cooper,' and boom—legend was born.
How did D.B. Cooper escape?
On November 24, 1971, the hijacker purchased a one-way ticket under the name 'Dan Cooper' from Portland to Seattle for $18.52 in cash. Shortly after the plane was in the air, he handed an air hostess a note saying that he was carrying a bomb.
D.B. Cooper then demanded $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes. After the plane touched down in Seattle, the ransom was delivered, and the hostages were released.
With the crew reduced to a bare minimum—two pilots, a flight engineer, and one flight attendant—D.B. Cooper made his next move. He ordered the pilots to take off again, but this time he asked them to fly below 10,000 feet, keep the speed under 200 knots, and lower the plane’s aft stairs.
As the plane soared over the dark, shadowy landscape of the Pacific Northwest, at some point during the flight, with the night swallowing him whole, Cooper descended the rear stairs and leaped into the unknown.
The plane, oblivious to what had just occurred, continued its path toward Mexico City. Cooper reportedly parachuted into the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest with $200,000 in tow, leaving behind only a black necktie and a few cigarette butts, further adding to the mystery.
Why has the D.B. Cooper case re-opened?
The discovery of a parachute possibly linked to D.B. Cooper has breathed new life into the decades-old mystery, prompting the FBI to revisit its investigation.
The parachute was discovered in the garage of 'Richard Floyd McCoy II,' whose children contacted Dan Gryder in 2022, a YouTuber who has been investigating the case for 20 years.
The McCoy siblings, Chanté and Rick, waited until after their mother’s death to reach out to Gryder. They led him to the McCoy family property in North Carolina, where the parachute was found.
Trending
After seeing Gryder's videos, the FBI contacted him and the McCoy family to inspect the parachute. This marked the first time the FBI had taken action on the case since it was closed in 2016. The FBI collected the parachute, along with a skydiving logbook found by Chanté that matched the timeline of the hijackings.
Gryder released a new video in 2023 detailing the FBI’s investigation and the latest developments in the search for D.B. Cooper. The discovery of the parachute has sparked new interest in the decades-old case, keeping the mystery of Cooper’s disappearance alive.
Reply
