The D.B. Cooper thing.

[Animal]

Anybody know much about this story? I had heard it over the years but saw a documentary on it last night. That guy doesn't get nearly enough credit.

This happened in 1971, i think. So, he gets on a plane in Portland for a short flight to Seattle. On the flight he hands a stewardess a note. The note says that this is a hi jacking and he wants them to land in Seattle, let all the people off the plane. Get him $200,000 in small bills, and 4 parachutes. And then gas the plane up to fly to Mexico. he has a brief case in his lap and he opens it and shows the stewardess what looks like a bomb.

The pilots are instructed to do exactly what he says. So they land, the people get off. They bring him the money in a burlap bag. Before bringing it they photograph every bill to get serial numbers. He rejects the 4 parachutes they bring because they are military issue and he wants civilian chutes.

He has studied planes enough to know that the plane he got on has a rear exit that is a set of stairs that can be lowered in flight.

The plane takes off for Mexico and he instructs the pilots to fly at 10,000 feet and not to go over 170 knots. He orders the flight crew into the front of the plane and to shut the curtains and then he lowers the back ramp and jumps into a rain storm and about 20 degree weather.

He does all of this shit wearing sunglasses and a suit and tie and never gets out of his seat on the back of the plane. He even orders a few bourbons during it all.

[megman]

Where did you end up landing?

[Animal]

Where did you end up landing?

beats me, but they said the ash debris from Mt St Helens erupting would have wiped out any traces. So, doesn't sound too far after take off. I think they said it was 8:15 pm. But didn't say what time the plane took off. The pilots knew exactly when he bailed because the alarm for the open stairwell went off and the pressure dropped in the plane.

there were also 3 fighter jets trailing the plane. but they didn't see anything since it was night and in a storm.

[Reservoir Dog]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

[megman]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

Ya, his mind is like a steel trap.

Rusty as fuck and illegal in 37 states.

[Animal]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

all i know is what i heard last night. years ago they found $6,000 of the bills (all the bills were $20 bills) on the shores of some river up there near where he jumped. They don't know if he threw those out to confuse law enforcement or if he drowned. None of the other bills ever showed up.

However, they did say that the life expectancy of a $20 bill in circulation is around 4.5 years ( I think ). And in 1971, even though they had serial numbers for every bill and sent the list to all the banks, the chances of the bills being found by a bank were pretty slim.

[CaptQuint]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

Well, D.B. Cooper was really Bernie Sanders, so after surviving the jump he went and bought three two bedroom mansions with the stolen money, after realizing that the electric bill for a mansion is $40,000 a month he soon exhausted his illicit fortune and became a Commie

[Animal]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

Well, D.B. Cooper was really Bernie Sanders, so after surviving the jump he went and bought three two bedroom mansions with the stolen money, after realizing that the electric bill for a mansion is $40,000 a month he soon exhausted his illicit fortune and became a Commie

its weird. all they had of the guy was that sketch you posted. A few years ago some guy died and on his death bed he told his wife that he was DB Cooper. She didn't know who that was, but after he died she did research and she thinks he might have been. So some guys took that sketch to a surveilance place in Las Vegas and ran it through a facial recognition program with millions of faces and the guy that died came up as the #1 match.

The dead guy was a chain smoker (as was Cooper), the dead guy had military experience (as they think Cooper probably did) and the dead guy had knowledge of planes (as Cooper must have). I think they said he also told his wife that he buried the money but couldn't find it later.

[WestTexasCrude]

Where did you end up landing?

beats me, but they said the ash debris from Mt St Helens erupting would have wiped out any traces. So, doesn't sound too far after take off. I think they said it was 8:15 pm. But didn't say what time the plane took off. The pilots knew exactly when he bailed because the alarm for the open stairwell went off and the pressure dropped in the plane.

there were also 3 fighter jets trailing the plane. but they didn't see anything since it was night and in a storm.

Bailed over Washington state. FBI got his fingerprints off the plane- no match. No clues or evidence- dead end. You mentioned the ransom was catalugued beforehand. In 1980, an 8 year old kid on vacation with his family on the Columbia River discovered badly decomposed bundles of cash on the shore. FBI confirmed it was part of the ransom. About $10,000. almost 9,700 other separate bills still missing.

[Animal]

Where did you end up landing?

beats me, but they said the ash debris from Mt St Helens erupting would have wiped out any traces. So, doesn't sound too far after take off. I think they said it was 8:15 pm. But didn't say what time the plane took off. The pilots knew exactly when he bailed because the alarm for the open stairwell went off and the pressure dropped in the plane.

there were also 3 fighter jets trailing the plane. but they didn't see anything since it was night and in a storm.

Bailed over Washington state. FBI got his fingerprints off the plane- no match. No clues or evidence- dead end. You mentioned the ransom was catalugued beforehand. In 1980, an 8 year old kid on vacation with his family on the Columbia River discovered badly decomposed bundles of cash on the shore. FBI confirmed it was part of the ransom. About $10,000. almost 9,700 other separate bills still missing.

finger prints reminds me of another thing they mentioned in the story. he had the stewardess return every ransom note he gave her so they wouldn't have any finger prints. i'm not sure what he did about the drinking glasses or his arm rest, or whatever else he might have touched.

[CaptQuint]

[megman]

[WestTexasCrude]

Only other evidence ever found, in the late 70's a placecard was found along the flight plan by a deer hunter detailing how to lower the aft-door on that kind of plane. and than a few years ago, a part of a strap of the kind of parachute he used was found in the same area.

[JackRabbit_Slim]

I seem to recall reading something once where they found the bag with some of the money in it. But that was a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'll have to consult WTC for the exact details.

Well, D.B. Cooper was really Bernie Sanders, so after surviving the jump he went and bought three two bedroom mansions with the stolen money, after realizing that the electric bill for a mansion is $40,000 a month he soon exhausted his illicit fortune and became a Commie

[AnalHamster]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

[CaptQuint]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Are you saying my Bernie theory is bollocks?

[AnalHamster]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Are you saying my Bernie theory is bollocks?

I could believe he survived and became Bernie Sanders, but I just don't see how he could spend 40k a month on his utility bills. Kinda stretches credulity a bit.

[CaptQuint]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Are you saying my Bernie theory is bollocks?

I could believe he survived and became Bernie Sanders, but I just don't see how he could spend 40k a month on his utility bills. Kinda stretches credulity a bit.

After the jump he was really cold and turned the heat up really high and kept the kettle on

[Animal]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Why are you saying that his "plan" was to jump over mexico? He had to have known that plane wouldn't be able to make a flight to mexico without refueling His plan seems so well thought out, I just can't imagine he would make a change in where he planned to jump.

in this show i saw, they had a stunt man basically recreate his jump, at night. Minus the rain storm and minus the jet flying at 170 knots (200 mph).

The same guy even jumped, in a suit, wearing the same gear with a bag of fake money weighing the same and at the same speed (14 mph) into a big swimming pool. the money bag ended up basically working like a floatation device and helped him stay afloat. the parachute was the problem. he could only stay above water for around 4-1/2 minutes i think. But in the test he didn't try to unharness the parachute or swim to anything.

this dude was just so cool with his plan. sun shades and all. it was like if James Bond hijacked a plane. i hope he survived.

[AnalHamster]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Why are you saying that his "plan" was to jump over mexico? He had to have known that plane wouldn't be able to make a flight to mexico without refueling His plan seems so well thought out, I just can't imagine he would make a change in where he planned to jump.

in this show i saw, they had a stunt man basically recreate his jump, at night. Minus the rain storm and minus the jet flying at 170 knots (200 mph).

The same guy even jumped, in a suit, wearing the same gear with a bag of fake money weighing the same and at the same speed (14 mph) into a big swimming pool. the money bag ended up basically working like a floatation device and helped him stay afloat. the parachute was the problem. he could only stay above water for around 4-1/2 minutes i think. But in the test he didn't try to unharness the parachute or swim to anything.

this dude was just so cool with his plan. sun shades and all. it was like if James Bond hijacked a plane. i hope he survived.

He told the flight crew where he wanted to go over mexico, and they had to explain to him that the aircraft did not have the range and they'd need an extra refueling stop, the location of which they suggested and he accepted. Since he didn't pick the refuel stop and didn't ask the flight crew for precise location at any point he had no particular site planned for the jump location where he might have stashed winter survival gear or be met by an accomplice.

Rather than a jump over Messico he went down, probably at terminal velocity, into frozen woodland. He'd most likely have frozen to death if he'd got down safe, which he most likely didn't. There's a reason the stuntman you watched didn't recreate the speed or conditions, too dangerous.

[WestTexasCrude]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Why are you saying that his "plan" was to jump over mexico? He had to have known that plane wouldn't be able to make a flight to mexico without refueling His plan seems so well thought out, I just can't imagine he would make a change in where he planned to jump.

in this show i saw, they had a stunt man basically recreate his jump, at night. Minus the rain storm and minus the jet flying at 170 knots (200 mph).

The same guy even jumped, in a suit, wearing the same gear with a bag of fake money weighing the same and at the same speed (14 mph) into a big swimming pool. the money bag ended up basically working like a floatation device and helped him stay afloat. the parachute was the problem. he could only stay above water for around 4-1/2 minutes i think. But in the test he didn't try to unharness the parachute or swim to anything.

this dude was just so cool with his plan. sun shades and all. it was like if James Bond hijacked a plane. i hope he survived.

I also doubt he survived either the jump or trudging out in that weather. Also have to remember the terrain he jumped over is like 95% forested. I doubt he ever touched ground. Could have been previously logged, I guess.

[WestTexasCrude]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Why are you saying that his "plan" was to jump over mexico? He had to have known that plane wouldn't be able to make a flight to mexico without refueling His plan seems so well thought out, I just can't imagine he would make a change in where he planned to jump.

in this show i saw, they had a stunt man basically recreate his jump, at night. Minus the rain storm and minus the jet flying at 170 knots (200 mph).

The same guy even jumped, in a suit, wearing the same gear with a bag of fake money weighing the same and at the same speed (14 mph) into a big swimming pool. the money bag ended up basically working like a floatation device and helped him stay afloat. the parachute was the problem. he could only stay above water for around 4-1/2 minutes i think. But in the test he didn't try to unharness the parachute or swim to anything.

this dude was just so cool with his plan. sun shades and all. it was like if James Bond hijacked a plane. i hope he survived.

He told the flight crew where he wanted to go over mexico, and they had to explain to him that the aircraft did not have the range and they'd need an extra refueling stop, the location of which they suggested and he accepted. Since he didn't pick the refuel stop and didn't ask the flight crew for precise location at any point he had no particular site planned for the jump location where he might have stashed winter survival gear or be met by an accomplice.

Rather than a jump over Messico he went down, probably at terminal velocity, into frozen woodland. He'd most likely have frozen to death if he'd got down safe, which he most likely didn't. There's a reason the stuntman you watched didn't recreate the speed or conditions, too dangerous.

I am definitely agreeing with all your posts in this thread except one. About the absence of circulated money found. With no computers back then in the financial institutions, The FBI would sent a trace to all banks. But after years of no clues, those would have expired. Could have waited and spent the money later. Pure speculation, of course.

[Stapes]

I heard he made it safely to a small town in Oregon, bought a bar, and settled in as a regular citizen. He started a yearly community get together called "Duck Fest" and his son went on to become the town mayor. The son was later convicted of embezzlement and internet porn violations that fueled his drug crazed lifestyle.

[AnalHamster]

It seems fairly unlikely he survived the jump since none of the bills were ever recovered in circulation, just a bundle found in a river. Plus he picked the worst of the two main chutes and a reserve that was clearly marked for a trained eye as being a dud training one, then jumped from a jet plane into freezing rain at -20, over hostile terrain that he hadn't planned for since he wanted to jump over Mexico, while wearing a suit. Kudos for the effort though, it was a solid plan other than the risk of dying on the jump.

Why are you saying that his "plan" was to jump over mexico? He had to have known that plane wouldn't be able to make a flight to mexico without refueling His plan seems so well thought out, I just can't imagine he would make a change in where he planned to jump.

in this show i saw, they had a stunt man basically recreate his jump, at night. Minus the rain storm and minus the jet flying at 170 knots (200 mph).

The same guy even jumped, in a suit, wearing the same gear with a bag of fake money weighing the same and at the same speed (14 mph) into a big swimming pool. the money bag ended up basically working like a floatation device and helped him stay afloat. the parachute was the problem. he could only stay above water for around 4-1/2 minutes i think. But in the test he didn't try to unharness the parachute or swim to anything.

this dude was just so cool with his plan. sun shades and all. it was like if James Bond hijacked a plane. i hope he survived.

He told the flight crew where he wanted to go over mexico, and they had to explain to him that the aircraft did not have the range and they'd need an extra refueling stop, the location of which they suggested and he accepted. Since he didn't pick the refuel stop and didn't ask the flight crew for precise location at any point he had no particular site planned for the jump location where he might have stashed winter survival gear or be met by an accomplice.

Rather than a jump over Messico he went down, probably at terminal velocity, into frozen woodland. He'd most likely have frozen to death if he'd got down safe, which he most likely didn't. There's a reason the stuntman you watched didn't recreate the speed or conditions, too dangerous.

I am definitely agreeing with all your posts in this thread except one. About the absence of circulated money found. With no computers back then in the financial institutions, The FBI would sent a trace to all banks. But after years of no clues, those would have expired. Could have waited and spent the money later. Pure speculation, of course.

There were computers back then, but whatever. The FBI recorded the serial number of every note he was given, that information was made publicly available, it still is, with a reward in the tens of thousands for finding one. And the FBI kept the investigation going for 45 years, long after there were much better computers. Fairly safe to say the notes he was given never circulated.

[WestTexasCrude]

Yeah, I agree. Have to admit like OP is saying, he went out in a blaze of glory. Still talked about half century later.