50 years on, thriller man’s mid-air escape stays solely unsolved aircraft hijacking in US historical past

On the eve of Thanksgiving, 1971, a nondescript, 40-something man who known as himself Dan Cooper approached the airport counter and acquired a one-way ticket for the quick flight from Portland to Seattle.

Within hours, he had strapped a bag holding $200,000 in ransom to himself — at this time value about $1.3 million — and parachuted off the aircraft, by no means to be discovered.Fifty years after his leap into the unknown, the case of D.B. Cooper — an alias spawned by the media — stays the one unsolved aircraft hijacking within the historical past of the United States.READ: Video of lacking Chinese tennis star posted on-lineThe US Federal Bureau of Investigation known as him “a quiet man who appeared to be in his mid-40s, wearing a business suit with a black tie and white shirt.”He ordered a bourbon and soda whereas ready for the aircraft to take off.His plan was pretty easy. After the plane departed, Cooper handed the flight attendant a notice. When she did not instantly react, he reportedly leaned over and stated: “Miss, you’d better look at that note. I have a bomb.” FBI handout picture obtained on March 27, 2008 exhibits the likenesses of DB Cooper | AFPAfter getting a glimpse of the mass of wires in his briefcase, the badly shaken flight attendant wrote down his calls for — 4 parachutes and $200,000 — and introduced them to the captain as instructed.When the aircraft landed in Seattle, Cooper let the 36 passengers go in trade for the cash and parachutes, introduced on board by the FBI.Keeping the crew as safety, he demanded the aircraft take off anew, and fly low — this time heading in the right direction for Mexico City.But someplace between Seattle and Reno, Nevada, Cooper jumped out of the rear door of the Boeing 727 and into the bitterly chilly winter night time.ManhuntThe FBI launched a far-reaching investigation, however after a number of weeks of looking out within the thick, rugged forests of the American Northwest, investigators discovered nothing.More than 5 years and 800 suspect interviews later, there have been nonetheless no indicators of the hijacker or his parachute.Did he even survive the bounce? Could his garments and provides final lengthy within the freezing wilderness?These questions and extra stay unanswered.’James Bond'”He’s a guy who presented himself in a James Bond-esque sort of manner,” stated researcher Eric Ulis, whose personal quest to resolve the Cooper thriller was the topic of a History Channel documentary.Ulis, a historian, has investigated and written concerning the case for practically 14 years, and he organized CooperCon, a convention for different skyjacking thriller fans.Mary Jean Fryar, a particular agent for the FBI within the 2000s, labored on the investigation.Cooper, she stated, grew to become “kind of a folklore hero” within the United States after his high-altitude heist.She describes the present flurry of curiosity across the case as like a “cult,” fueled by the truth that the hijacker has by no means been discovered.Theories, some far-fetched, have poured in through the years, and dozens of individuals have claimed, typically on their deathbed, to be D.B. Cooper.FBI investigators examined many intriguing profiles, like that of Barbara Dayton, an novice pilot and transgender girl who allegedly confessed to her mates; of Lynn Doyle Cooper, whose niece grew to become satisfied of his involvement after he confirmed up bloody and battered to Thanksgiving dinner that yr; and of Sheridan Paterson, a World War II veteran interviewed by Fryar.The FBI lastly closed the case in 2016 “to focus on other investigative priorities.”Ulis stated that federal regulation enforcement did “a very good job” general, regardless of “a few critical errors.”He argues that the FBI obtained the flight route incorrect, and D.B. Cooper thus would have landed miles from the huge search space.But the aura of thriller surrounding the affair continues to encourage Americans.D.B. Cooper paraphernalia is available on the market on-line: followers can select from espresso cups, T-shirts, bumper stickers and socks — and till it closed, there was even a D.B. Cooper strip membership in Texas.