The only unsolved aviation piracy in U.S. history was completed by a man known as D.B. Cooper. On the night of November 24, 1971, a man hijacked a Boeing 727 in between Seattle and Portland ("Help Us Solve the Enduring Mystery."). The plane refueled and flew off to Reno (1). Cooper jumped off the plane and has not been seen since. He acquired the alias D.B. Cooper after a news reporter mistook the name when overhearing an FBI agent, but the name he bought his plane ticket under was Dan Cooper (1). There have been many theories to form since Cooper’s jump, is he Floridian Duane Weber, is Kenneth Christiansen the real D.B. Cooper, or did he escape through the Washington Mountains? Let us take a look at the theories that have developed and the chance Kenneth Christiansen is D. B. Cooper.
Although
not much was known about the mysterious Dan Cooper, “The two flight attendants
who spent the most time with him on the plane were interviewed the same night
in separate cities and gave nearly identical descriptions…People on the ground
who came into contact with him also gave similar descriptions”(“Help Us Solve
the Enduring Mystery”). Cooper was describes as being a white male in his
mid-40’s, around six feet tall and weighed 170-180 pounds, an average build for
the time("D B Cooper Part 1 of 7"). His skin was described as medium
smooth and olive colored giving him an almost Latin appearance (1). For most of
the flight he had on dark sunglasses with black rims, but the stewardesses who
was Cooper up close before said he had dark colored eyes. His hair was dark
brown or black, combed back, and parted on the left (1). He wore a black suit
with a white shirt and black tie from J.C. Penny (1). The tie was later
recovered on the plane, giving the FBI Cooper’s DNA. During the flight he
heavily smoked Raleigh filter tip cigarettes (1). The only two items he carried
were a paper bag and a black briefcase which he claimed carried a bomb (1). He
spoke very little, only ordering a bourbon and soda before takeoff, and then
only spoke to the stewardesses to give them his demands (“A Byte out of
History”). Even with the little he said the stewardesses were able to tell he
did not have much of an accent.
In
2007 the Dan Cooper case was taken over by Seattle Special Agent Larry Carr (“In
Search of D.B. Cooper”). He has put together many theories including how he
chose his name. Dan Cooper is also the name of a French comic book about a
royal Canadian air force test pilot. Carr believes Cooper was in the Air Force
but Stationed overseas, which is how he could have seen the comic book (“In
Search of D.B. Cooper”). Original theories consisted of Cooper being a trained
paratrooper because he asked for two normal parachutes and two reserves. Carr
does not believe this theory for a few reasons. First is the fact that the
reserve chute was sewn shut, and secondly “No experienced parachutist would
have jumped in the pitch-black night, with a 200-mile-an-hour wind in his face,
wearing loafers and a trench coat” (“Help Us Solve the Enduring Mystery”).
These facts have led Special Agent Carr to believe he was a cargo loader, which
would give him knowledge of planes but not enough to know how to safely
parachute in those conditions.
Throughout
the years of the investigation, the FBI has come across multiple suspects who
fit the description. While investigating these suspects and looking over the
information, several theories have arisen. The first of which looks at Duane
Weber. Duane was an insurance salesmen in the Florida panhandle and was married
to Jo Weber. On his deathbed in 1995, Duane told his wife “I am Dan Cooper”
("D. B. Cooper -- Found At Last?"). In the years following her
husband’s death, Jo Weber has been investigating her husband’s claim. She
recalled a few details in support of her husband, he had an old knee injury
from jumping out of a plane, during a sleep-talking nightmare he talked about
“leaving fingerprints on a plane”, and a local library book on D.B. Cooper with
Duane’s handwriting ("D. B. Cooper -- Found At Last?"). Jo’s concern
for not believing the theory, held by most, that Dan Cooper died from injuries
sustained after jumping, "I have not seen one piece of evidence that
supports that. No body. No bones. No parachute. Nothing" ("D. B.
Cooper -- Found At Last?"). Duane Weber was eventually ruled out by DNA
testing (Gray 3).
Over
a few years, several tips were sent to the FBI by Lyle Christiansen. He
believed his brother Kenneth was D. B. Cooper. In 2004, he sent his final
letter to the FBI stating “I’m not getting any younger… Before I die I would like to find out if my brother was D.B. Cooper.
From what I know I feel that he was and without a doubt” (Gray
3). Skip Porteus responded and gather information on Kenneth. Lyle sent
pictures that matched to sketches of Cooper, then told Porteus of Kenneth’s
time in the army as a paratrooper (4). After the army, Kenneth held many jobs,
one of which was for Northwest Airlines as a mechanic and then as a flight
attendant. His coworkers said he kept to himself most of the time, not even going
out for drinks during layovers, matching the personality of Dan Cooper (5).
Other traits matched as well; he made a large purchase of land a year after the
hijacking, he smoked heavily, and he loved bourbon.
At one point in the investigation, the FBI had over 900 suspects
("D. B. Cooper -- Found At Last?"). So far, they all have been ruled
out as the real hijacker. This has led to the theory that Cooper died in the
Washington Cascades. The largest contributing factor is the conditions during
the jump. It was just after 8 p.m. and the sun had already gone down. The plane
was traveling at close to 200 knots in the rain putting the wind chill at 69
degrees below zero (Gray 2). Cooper had ordered the plane to fly at 10,000
feet, but the cloud cover that night was only at 5,000 feet blocking his view
of the ground ("Help
Us Solve the Enduring Mystery"). The parachute
given to Cooper by the FBI was non-steerable (“A Byte Out of History”), which would cause a problem because the Washington
Cascades are covered in 100 foot tall pine, hemlock, and spruce trees (Gray 2).
The only proof that Cooper even made it to the ground is 5,800 dollars in
twenty dollar bills that match the serial numbers of the ransom money, which
was found nine years later and a few feet from the bank of a river (“A
Byte Out of History”).
Even with the lack of a body, it is likely that Cooper died
during or shortly after the jump. This idea is held by most investigators
including Special Agent Carr, the FBI’s current investigator. He thinks that
“diving into the wilderness without a plan, without the right equipment, in
such terrible conditions, he probably never even got his chute open” ("Help Us Solve the Enduring
Mystery"). It is also unlikely that Cooper had
help on the ground to escape the mountains. “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” (1). Since Cooper’s
instructions were to “Fly to Mexico” and the cloud cover made it hard to see
the ground it is unlikely he knew his exact location during the jump ("Help
Us Solve the Enduring Mystery"). In a short
survey, thirteen out of twenty people believed that Cooper died shortly after
the jump.
There are striking similarities between D. B. Cooper and the Dan
Cooper comic. First, and most obvious, is the name. The hijacker used the name
Dan Cooper on his ticket. This is how the connection was first made. The Dan
Cooper comic is about a Canadian flying ace and rocket ship pilot who often can
be found parachuting away with a suit. While negotiating with the FBI, Cooper
asked for “negotiable American currency,” a phrase that wouldn’t be used by
many Americans (Kaye). Along with the lack of an accent this leads to the idea
that he may have been from French Canada also making it unlikely he would have
had an accent (1). The Dan Cooper comic was only published in French, so the
suspect would have needed to be able to at least read in French (1).
After almost forty-four years of
investigation by the FBI and private citizens, and looking through close to
1,000 suspects, three theories can be made:
1. Was
it self-proclaimed Duane Weber?
2. Was
Kenneth Christiansen the hijacker?
3. Did
Cooper die in the Washington Cascades?
With the jump conditions, a parachute that
could not be steered, the reserve chute sewn shut, and one-hundred foot tall
trees covering any possible landing zone, it is likely that Cooper never
escaped the mountains. Even though it is unlikely he survived searches through
the mountains have come up empty handed. No traces of his chutes, clothing, or
a body have been found making the case of D. B. Cooper the only unsolved
aviation hijacking in United States History.
Citation
“A Byte Out of History.” FBI. FBI,
24 Nov. 2006. Web. 14 Oct. 2015
"D. B. Cooper -- Found At
Last?" CBS, 22 Aug. 2000. Web.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/d-b-cooper-found-at-last/>.
"D B Cooper Part 1 of 7."
FBI. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
<https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D-B-Cooper-Part-1-of-7/view>.
Gray, Geoffrey. "Unmasking D.B.
Cooper." NYMag.com. New York Magazine, 21 Oct.
2007. 1-6. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
<http://nymag.com/news/features/39593/>.
"Help Us Solve the Enduring
Mystery." FBI. FBI, 31 Dec. 2007. Web. 16 Sept.
2015. <https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2007/december/dbcooper_123107>.
“In Search of D.B. Cooper.” FBI.
FBI, 17 Mar. 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2015
<https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/march/in-search-of-d.b.-cooper/dbcooper_031709>.
Kaye, Tom, Alan Stone, and Carol
Abraczinskas. "Research Conclusions." Citizen Sleuths.
N.p., 2011. Web. 16
Nov. 2015. <http://citizensleuths.com/conclusions.html>.
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