Today in History: D. B. Cooper

Today in History: D.B. Cooper

The legend of D.B. Cooper is one that will never die. It is one of the greatest Airline heists of all time, and it still remains an unsolved crime. From History:Cooper commandeered the aircraft shortly after takeoff, showing a flight attendant something that looked like a bomb and informing the crew that he wanted $200,000, four parachutes, and “no funny stuff.” The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where authorities met Cooper’s demands and evacuated most of the passengers. Cooper then demanded that the plane fly toward Mexico at a low altitude and ordered the remaining crew into the cockpit.At 8:13 p.m., as the plane flew over the Lewis River in southwest Washington, the plane’s pressure gauge recorded Cooper’s jump from the aircraft. Wearing only wraparound sunglasses, a thin suit, and a raincoat, Cooper parachuted into a thunderstorm with winds in excess of 100 mph and temperatures well below zero at the 10,000-foot altitude where he began his fall. The storm prevented an immediate capture, and most authorities assumed he was killed during his apparently suicidal jump. No trace of Cooper was found during a massive search.

In 1980, an eight-year-old boy uncovered a stack of nearly $5,880 of the ransom money in the sands along the north bank of the Columbia River, five miles from Vancouver, Washington. The fate of Cooper remains a mystery.See more from History.com.An additional article can be found at Time..... Cooper clearly had a plan, although officials didn't realize what it was until it was too late. While the plane flew to Reno, Nev. (ostensibly for a refueling stop), Cooper parachuted into the night. Despite the fact that law-enforcement officials in five different planes were tailing the jetliner, no one witnessed the jump. Though the FBI contends that Cooper couldn't have survived, it released new composite sketches in 2007 in hopes of closing the case.This is one of those stories that I am torn on. On one hand, I would love to know the details following the jump, but on the other, it is nice to hold on to the hope that D.B. will never be found.[mwi-cat-listing cat="94" ppp="4" cols="4" desc="false" type="view" btn_color="black" ]