D.B. Cooper: The Hijacker Who Vanished with $200,000 and an Unfilled Gap

On the afternoon of November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper bought a one-way ticket from Portland to Seattle. He wore a suit and black tie, ordered bourbon and soda, and sat quietly on Northwest Orient Flight 305. After takeoff, he handed flight attendant Florence Schaffner a note. She thought it was a telephone number and put it away. The man leaned close and told her to read it at once: the briefcase beside him contained a bomb.

He demanded $200,000 in cash, four parachutes and a fuel truck waiting in Seattle. The plane carried 36 passengers. No one knew they were inside an exchange controlled from an ordinary seat. When the aircraft landed, Cooper received the money and parachutes, released every passenger and one flight attendant, then forced the pilots to fly toward Reno, Nevada. A little after 8 p.m., the rear stairs were lowered. When the plane landed in Reno, Cooper, the ransom money and two parachutes were gone.