FBI Asks Help in Solving 1971 D.B. Cooper Case

More than 36 years after the crime, the FBI is still seeking clues in the case of the mysterious skyjacker known as "D.B. Cooper" who commandeered a commercial jet on Nov. 24, 1971. This week the FBI published previously unreleased photographs in hopes of jogging someone's memory.

"It's a mystery, frankly," the FBI admits on a new Web page. "We've run down thousands of leads and considered all sorts of scenarios. And amateur sleuths have put forward plenty of their own theories. Yet the case remains unsolved.'

Demanded and Received $200,000

A man calling himself Dan Cooper, also known as D.B. Cooper, boarded a jet in Portland, Oregon headed for Seattle on Thanksgiving night in 1971. He commandeered the plane, claiming he had dynamite in a bag.

In Seattle, he demanded and received $200,000 and four parachutes. He then demanded to be flown to Mexico. Shortly before reaching the Oregon border, he jumped with two of the chutes, one of which was a trainer and sewn shut. Investigators do not believe that he survived the jump.

That was 36 years ago and the only trace ever found of D.B. Cooper or his $200,000 were $5,800 in damaged $20 bills found by a boy near the Columbia River.

Things to Keep in Mind About Case

Special Agent Larry Carr is heading up the D.B. Cooper case for the FBI. According to Carr, here are a few things to keep in mind about the case:

• Cooper was no expert skydiver. "We originally thought Cooper was an experienced jumper, perhaps even a paratrooper," says Special Agent Carr. "We concluded after a few years this was simply not true. No experienced parachutist would have jumped in the pitch-black night, in the rain, with a 200-mile-an-hour wind in his face, wearing loafers and a trench coat. It was simply too risky. He also missed that his reserve chute was only for training and had been sewn shut—something a skilled skydiver would have checked."

• The hijacker had no help on the ground, either. To have utilized an accomplice, Cooper would've needed to coordinate closely with the flight crew so he could jump at just the right moment and hit the right drop zone. But Cooper simply said, "Fly to Mexico," and he had no idea where he was when he jumped. There was also no visibility of the ground due to cloud cover at 5,000 feet.

• We have a solid physical description of Cooper. "The two flight attendants who spent the most time with him on the plane were interviewed separately the same night in separate cities and gave nearly identical descriptions," says Carr. "They both said he was about 5'10" to 6', 170 to 180 pounds, in his mid-40s, with brown eyes. People on the ground who came into contact with him also gave very similar descriptions."

DNA Evidence on File

The FBI also has D.B. Cooper's DNA, which was found in 2001 on a cheap, clip-on type tie the skyjacker left on the plane.

The FBI is asking the public to view the new evidence photos and if anyone has information about the case to email the FBI Seattle office at fbise@leo.gov.

See Also:
FBI - D.B. Cooper Redux

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