A 1972 FBI composite drawing of D. B. Cooper

D. B. Cooper is the name used to refer to a famous airplane hijacker who, after receiving a ransom payout of $200,000, leapt from the back of a Boeing 727 as it was flying over the Pacific Northwest. No conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper's whereabouts, and several theories offer competing explanations of what happened after his famed jump. The only clues to have turned up in the case are ambiguous: around $5,000 that washed up on the banks of the Columbia River, and part of a sign believed to be from the rear stairway of the plane from which Cooper jumped. The nature of Cooper's escape and the uncertainty of his fate continue to intrigue people to this day. One of several FBI composite sketches of D. B. Cooper. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Stub | Crimes | Terrorism | IT ...

The Hijacking

At 16:35 on Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1971 in the United States, a man travelling under the name Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 727-051, flight 305, flying from Portland International Airport (PDX) in Portland, Oregon, with the threat of a bomb (he had a briefcase containing wires and "red sticks"). He was dressed entirely in black and wearing sunglasses. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in much of North America, generally observed as an expression of gratitude, usually to God. ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ: NWAC) is an airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota. ... Sun Country 727 The Boeing 727 was, for a very long time, the most popular jet-liner in the world. ... Mt. ... The IATA airport code is a three-letter alphabetic code designating many airports around the world. ... Portland is the largest city in Oregon, and county seat of Multnomah County. ...

When the plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport near Seattle, Washington at 17:45, its intended destination, he released the passengers in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes. At 19:45 he then had the air crew take the plane back into the air, ordering them to fly towards Mexico at low speed and altitude with the landing gear down and 15 degrees of flap. At some point during the journey he jumped out of the rear stairway of the airplane with the money and parachutes. The FBI believed his descent was at 20:11 over southwest Washington, because the rear stairway "bumped" at that time. His descent went unnoticed by the United States Air Force F-106 jet fighters tracking the airliner. FAA diagram of Sea-Tac Airport Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (IATA:SEA, ICAO:KSEA), also known as Sea-Tac Airport, is located in SeaTac, Washington at the intersection of Washington State Route 518 and Washington State Route 99. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... The Convair F-106A Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the US Air Force from the 1960s through the late 1970s. ...

Despite an eighteen-day search of the projected landing zone no trace of the man was found, and it is unknown whether he survived the escape. On February 13, 1980, $5,800 (in bundles of $20 bills) of the ransom money was found five miles northwest of Vancouver, Washington on the bank of the Columbia River by a family on a picnic. February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Vancouver, Washington is a city on the north shore of the Columbia River, in the state of Washington, USA. It is the county seat of Clark County. ... Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side Geography The Columbia River is the largest river in volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America. ...

The FBI questioned and then released a man by the name of Daniel B. Cooper, who was never considered a significant suspect. Due to a miscommunication with the media, however, the initials "D. B." became firmly associated with the hijacker and this is how he is now known. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Following three similar (but less successful) hijackings in 1972, the Federal Aviation Administration required that all Boeing 727 aircraft be fitted with a device known as the "Cooper Vane", a mechanical aerodynamic wedge, which prevents the rear stairway from being lowered in flight. 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... The Federal Aviation Administration is the entity of the United States government which regulates and oversees all aspects of aviation in the U.S. History The Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, is the cornerstone of the Federal Governments regulation of civil aviation. ... Following three hijackings in 1972, Boeing 727 aircraft were ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to be fitted with a device known as a Cooper Vane, a mechanical aerodynamic wedge, which prevents the rear stairway from being lowered in flight. ...

Suspects

Richard McCoy Jr.

One of the 1972 hijackings was by a man named Richard McCoy Jr. On April 7, 1972, four months after D.B. Cooper's hijacking, McCoy boarded United Flight 855 during a stopover in Denver. It was a Boeing 727 with aft stairs, the same type used in the Cooper hijacking, which McCoy used to escape after giving the crew the same type of instructions as D.B. Cooper. April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ...

Police started to investigate McCoy after a tip. He was a married former Mormon Sunday school teacher with two young children who was studying law enforcement at Brigham Young University. He was also a Vietnam veteran, a former Green Beret helicopter pilot, and an avid skydiver. The term Mormon is a colloquial name most often used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... Sunday School is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays (traditionally, though not exclusively, in the morning) by various Christian denominations, especially in the United States. ... This is an article on a university; for the German airport (IATA-Code BYU) see Bindlacher Berg Airport. ... This article is about the U.S. Special Operations Force. ...

Following a fingerprint and handwriting match, McCoy was arrested two days after the hijacking. Inside his house FBI agents found a jumpsuit and a duffel bag filled with cash totalling $499,970. McCoy claimed innocence, but was convicted and received a 45-year sentence. A woman in a ski jumpsuit (what could also be called a one-piece skisuit). ...

Once incarcerated, using his access to the prison's dental office, McCoy fashioned a fake gun out of dental paste. He and a crew of convicts escaped in August 1974 by stealing a garbage truck and crashing it though the prison's gates. It took three months for the FBI to locate McCoy, in Virginia. McCoy shot at the FBI agents and agent Nicholas O'Hara fired back with a shotgun, killing him. State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ...

D.B. Cooper: The Real McCoy, co-authored by an ex-FBI agent named Russell Calame, was published in 1991. The book made the case that Cooper and McCoy were really the same person, citing similar methods of hijacking and a tie left by Cooper similar to those worn by Brigham Young students. The author said that McCoy "never admitted nor denied he was Cooper." And when McCoy was directly asked whether he was Cooper he replied "I don't want to talk to you about it." The agent who killed McCoy is quoted as saying, "When I shot Richard McCoy, I shot D.B. Cooper at the same time." The widow of Richard McCoy, Karen Burns McCoy, sued and won a settlement from both the book's co-authors and its publisher.

Duane Weber

In August 2000, U.S. News and World Report ran an article about a widow in Pace, Florida named Jo Weber and her claim that her late husband, Duane Weber, was D. B. Cooper. Before his death in 1995, Duane had told her "I'm Dan Cooper." She became suspicious and began checking into her late husband's background. Duane Weber had served in the Army during World War II and later had served time in a prison near the Portland airport. Ms. Weber recalled that her husband had once had a nightmare where he talked in his sleep about jumping from a plane. She had once found an old plane ticket in his papers for Northwest Airlines that said SEA-TAC. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence Ms. Weber related was the fact she had checked out a book on the Cooper case from the local library and saw notations in it that matched her husband's handwriting. Ms. Weber began corresponding with FBI Agent Ralph Himmelsbach, the chief investigator of the Cooper case. Himmelsbach has said Weber is one of the best suspects he has come across. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... U.S. News & World Report is a weekly newsmagazine. ... Pace is a census-designated place located in Santa Rosa County, Florida. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Although the match between the composite drawing and pictures of Duane Weber must be considered inconclusive, recently, facial recognition software was used on 3000 photographs (including that of a Weber and two other suspects) to identify him as "the best match" (in 3000).

Cultural influences

• The community of Ariel in Cowlitz County, Washington, commemorates the incident with an annual celebration called "D.B. Cooper Days."
• The television series Newsradio featured a story arc in which the character Jimmy James was arrested in the belief that he was D.B. Cooper. During trial, Cooper was actually found to be Adam West. Earlier in the series, James had been revealed to be Deep Throat.
• In the movie Without a Paddle the friends go on a trip to find DB Cooper's treasure.
• Oregon-native singer/songwriter Todd Snider wrote and performs a song about the famous mystery titled D.B. Cooper. [1] (http://launch.yahoo.com/track/1814802) [2] (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004RJ5M/) [3] (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000950X6/qid=1112026596/sr=8-2/)
• Rap/ Rock Artist Kid Rock refers to "D.B. Cooper and all the money he took" in his 2000 song Bawitdaba.

Cowlitz County is a county located in the state of Washington. ... In a general sense, a series is a related set of things that occur one after the other or are otherwise connected one after the other. ... NewsRadio was an American sitcom, originally broadcast from 1995 to 1999 by NBC. The series is set in a New York City news radio station, WNYX, and starts with the arrival of a new news director, Dave Nelson (played by Dave Foley). ... A story arc is a term in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books and comic strips that refers to a continuing storyline. ... Adam West as Batman Adam West (born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington) is best known as the actor who played the role of Batman on the original television program that ran from 1966 to 1968. ... The term Deep Throat or deep throat has several meanings: Deep throating is a sexual act. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 2004 films | Adventure films | Comedy films ... Todd Snider is a singer/songwriter from Oregon. ... Kid Rock (real name Robert Ritchie, born January 17, 1971 in Romeo, Michigan) is a performer of rap music - notably combining rap with the sounds of more traditional rock music and even country music. ...

External link

• Crime Library: D.B. Cooper (http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/scams/DB_Cooper/)