Smith 1 Trevor Smith Prof. Presnell English 1103 20 November 2013 The Mystery of D.B.

Cooper Its a case that has haunted our government for 2 !ears. The anniversar! of the s"!#ac"ing occurs ever! November. $o% could one individual ta"e control of an air&lane' ta"e (200'000 from the federal government' and then #um& out the bac" and get a%a! %ith it. Its &robabl! one of the biggest cold cases in the histor! of the )nited States' as %ell as onl! unsolved hi#ac"ing. 2 !ears later' there are still no sus&ects' no arrests' barel! an! evidence' and no ans%ers. Sure' this hi#ac"ing did not have an! loss of life' but &lent! of &eo&le %ant ans%ers. *hat %as this mans motive+ ,id he act alone or %as he &art of a larger grou&+ Is he affiliated %ith a terrorist organi-ation+ $o% did he get a%a! %ith it+ In a small to%n outside Seattle' *ashington' citi-ens actuall! celebrate the anniversar! of the hi#ac"ing %ith a &art!' %here &eo&le &ra! and ho&e that he reall! did get a%a! %ith the mone!' because it .creates such a good stor!/. Not onl! has he become a legend in the aviation %orld' but a fol" hero. This is the stor! of ,.0. 1oo&er.

No Turning Back

Smith 2 The date %as November 2 ' 1231' the da! before Than"sgiving. The nations air&orts are filled %ith families traveling to visit relatives to celebrate the holida!. In Portland' 4regon' &assengers %ere &re&aring to board North%est 4rient 5irlines flight 306 to Seattle' *ashington. It %as a schedule non7sto& 307minute flight aboard the %idel! &o&ular 0oeing 323 aircraft' %hich had 8uic"l! asserted itself as the best airliner of its da!. $9l:na ;at-' author of 1old 1ases< =amous )nsolved >!steries' 1rimes' and ,isa&&earances in 5merica' had direct advisement from a re&resentative from the 0oeing 1om&an! %ho described the 0oeing 323 aircraft. The North%est 4rient 5irlines 0oeing 323 is &ictured belo%. She said' .The 0oeing 323 %as an e?tremel! maneuverable aircraft. It %as able to fl! at a lo% altitude' slo% airs&eed' and land at air&orts %ith e?tremel! short run%a!s. It %as an aircraft that %ould connect citi-ens from smaller to%ns into the larger cities. It %as also the onl! aircraft to have tail cone stairs./ 5&&ro?imatel! 207minutes before the flight de&arted' a man a&&roached the North%est 4rient 5irlines tic"et counter. 5n unidentified tic"et agent described the a&&earance of the man. She described him as cleanl! dressed %ith a full suit @ tie and loafers. $e had &ale' olive loo"ing s"in %ith a receding hairline. $e %as

North%est 4rient 0oeing 323

Smith 3 a&&ro?imatel! bet%een 6 feet 10 inches and A feet 0 inches in height' and %eighed about 130 &ounds. The man identified himself as ,an 1oo&er' and re8uested a one7%a! tic"et to Seattle' *ashington. ,an 1oo&er &aid the (20 fare in cash. >r. 1oo&er had no luggage to chec"' he #ust had his o%n &ersonal briefcase as a carr!7on item. $e &roceeded through the securit! chec"&oint' %hich did not &ut his carr!7on item through the ?7 ra! machine. 5t the time' there %as little conce&t of air&ort securit!. >r. 1oo&er boarded flight 306 %ith 36 other &assengers' 3 flight attendants' and 2 &ilots. 4nce aboard the aircraft' >r. 1oo&er occu&ied seat 1B1 and had that %hole ro% of the air&lane to himself. 5t a&&ro?imatel! 2<60 &.m. PST' the &lane too" off and headed to%ards Seattle' *ashington. Miss, I Have a Bomb ;a! >elchisedech 4lsons boo" The ,.0. 1oo&er $i#ac"ing< Canishing 5ct gave the best account of the hi#ac"ing as she had direct advisement from =0I agents connected to the case. 10 minutes into the flight' >r. 1oo&er handed a note to flight attendant Tina >uc"lo%. She %as &ositioned closer to him in her #um& seat attached to the rear stair door. >uc"lo% assumed the note %as >r. 1oo&ers &hone number' and that he %as tr!ing to hit on her' %hich bac" then' %as not at all

=light 306 flight cre%

Smith uncommon. She sim&l! sli&&ed the note inside her &oc"et. >r. 1oo&er demanded that >uc"lo% read the note' as he said' .>iss' !ou ought to the read the note' I have a bomb./ >uc"lo% later testified under oath in a federal court that she &roceeded to o&en the note. She described the note as neatl! %ritten in all ca&ital letters %ith a felt &en. The note read' .I have a bomb in m! briefcase. I %ill use it if necessar!' I %ant !ou to sit ne?t to me. Dou are being hi#ac"ed./ >uc"lo% &roceeded as re8uested' and sat ne?t to >r. 1oo&er' %hich no% donned a &air of blac" %ra&7around sunglasses. >r. 1oo&er gave a list of re8uests to >uc"lo%. $e re8uested (200'000 in (20 bills &ut into a "na&sac"' &arachutes' and a fuel truc" standing b! at the air&ort in Seattle to refuel the air&lane once it got onto the ground. >uc"lo% rela!ed the demands to 1a&tain *illiam *. Scott and =irst 4fficer *illiam Eatac-a". Part of the cre% is &ictured above. 0elieving this %as no #o"e' 1a&tain Scott rela!ed the demands to the control to%er in Seattle' *ashington' %ho in turn rela!ed the demands to the =ederal 0ureau of Investigation. ,onald N!ro&' the &resident of North%est 4rient 5irlines' agreed to the &a!ment of the ransom and ordered all individuals involved to coo&erate %ith the hi#ac"er. The 36 other &assengers' %ho %ere oblivious to the fact that their &lane had been hi#ac"ed'

$i#ac"ed air&lane on the ram& in Seattle

Smith 6 %ere informed that the &lane %as e?&eriencing mechanical issues' and had to fl! around the air&ort a cou&le of times to burn off enough fuel to land. The =0I got the &arachutes from a local s"!diving school' after 1oo&er refused militar! grade &arachutes. It too" them some time to gather u& the ransom' as it %as the largest amount ever demanded. 5ll the (20 bills %ere documented b! their serial numbers and &laced into a "na&sac". 1oo&er %as informed that his demands %ere met' and the &lane &roceeded to land in Seattle. >r. 1oo&er demanded that the &lane ta?i to a remote &art of the air&ort' and that bright floodlights illuminate the &lane. $e also demanded that a stair truc" &ull u& to the main cabin door. The hi#ac"ed air&lane sitting on the ram& in Seattle is &ictured above. >uc"lo% %as instructed b! 1oo&er to retrieve all the mone! and the &arachutes from the =0I. 4nce all the ransom %as on board' 1oo&er' made a sur&rising move. $e let all 36 &assengers and the other 2 flight attendants leave the air&lane. The authorities 8uestioned %h! he did this. I %ould have thought that 1oo&er %ould %ant ever!bod! as hostages so it %ould force the =0I to coo&erate %ith his demands since so man! lives %ere at sta"e. 5 lot of &assengers still had no idea their &lane had been hi#ac"ed. Ironicall!' some of them found out through the ne%s&a&er the follo%ing morning. 5ll that %ere left on the air&lane %ere 1a&tain Scott' =irst 4fficer Eatac-a" and =light 5ttendant >uc"lo%. The =0I figured that the &lane %as going to

Smith A ta"e bac" off and 1oo&er %as going to #um&' but %h! &arachutes+

*as he going to force the cre% to #um& out %ith him+ *as the air&lane going to be left unattended until it crashed some%here+ *ithout 1oo&ers "no%ledge' the =0I scrambled a 17130' a militar! aircraft' and another small aircraft' and &ut them on standb! to trail the 0oeing 323 once it too" bac" off. Back in the Air 4nce the &lane %as refueled' >r. 1oo&er demanded that the &ilots fl! the &lane to%ards >e?ico 1it!. 1oo&er %anted the &lane to fl! at or belo% 10'000 feet' fl! at or belo% 200 m&h' have 16 of fla&s in' and the rear stair door unloc"ed. The &ilots "ne% that the &lane couldnt fl! all the %a! to%ards >e?ico 1it! %ith #ust one tan" of gas' so
Su&&osed flight &ath of the hi#ac"ed air&lane

the &ilots and 1oo&er agreed on a fuel sto& in Eeno' NC. *ith the fates of the cre% un"no%n' the =0I and local &olice %atched as the &lane too" off and turned on course to Eeno' NC. 5fter about 10 minutes in flight' at a&&ro?imatel! 3< 2 &.m.' a red light came on in the coc"&it signaling that the rear stair door had been unloc"ed. 5t B<10 &.m.' another light came on in the coc"&it signaling that the stairs %ere full! de&lo!ed' %hich unstabali-ed the

Smith 3 air&lane and caused the air&lane to go into a nose high &itch. 1a&tain Scott radioed over the aircrafts P5 s!stem as"ing 1oo&er if he needed assistance. 5fter about minutes' 1oo&er re&lied %ith a stern .N4F/

That is the last an!bod! ever heard from him. Suddenl!' the &itch of the air&lane %ent into a shar& nosedive' indicating that he had #um&ed< the loss of his %eight caused the center of gravit! to change' ma"ing the air&lane nosedive. 1ontinuing to follo% 1oo&ers demands' the &lane continued its route and made the landing in Eeno' NC %ith the rear stairs still de&lo!ed. 5n image of the air&lane after landing in Eeno' NC is &ictured belo%. 5 8uic"' armed search of the aircraft confirmed that 1oo&er' the mone!' and t%o of the four &arachutes %ere gone. 5ll that %ere left %ere the remaining &arachutes' 1oo&ers tie' and tie tab. The search for ,.0. 1oo&er had officiall! begun. The Investigation Than"sgiving ,a!' 1231' 1oo&ers name %as ever!%here. $e 8uic"l! became the tal" of ever! to%n. The =0I and local authorities 8uic"l! began to search the %oods south of Seattle' *ashington loo"ing for clues. Nobod!
The &lane on the ram& in Eeno' NC after 1oo&ers #um&

"ne% if he survived the #um&' so according to an =0I s&ecial agent on the case' .*e are either loo"ing for a &arachute or a big hole in the ground./ It %as re&orted that the =0I %as getting over 1'000 leads

Smith B ever! %ee" %ith &eo&le claiming the! sa% 1oo&er %andering the streets around Cancouver' *ashington' a suburb of Seattle. The %oods and the air&lane %ere being searched for clues. 4n the air&lane' there %as no ,N5 or finger&rints left on the tie' tie tab' or &arachutes that 1oo&er had left behind. The =0I did find roughl! A3 &airs of finger&rints throughout the air&lane' but most of them %ere believed to belong to &assengers on flight 306 and &revious flights before then. 5t the time' %ith the lac" of technological advances in forensic science' the =0I had no %a! of confirming that an! of those finger&rints matched to ,.0. 1oo&er. 5lso' because ,.0. 1oo&er %as an alias' there %as no &ossibilit! of "no%ing his real identit!. 5fter the %hole flight cre% had been intervie%ed' a detailed s"etch %as released %ith %hat ,.0. 1oo&er su&&osedl! loo"ed li"e. The first s"etch of ,.0. 1oo&er based on accounts of the flight attendants and tic"et agents is &ictured belo%. 4n ,ecember B' 1231' the serial numbers of the (20 bills that 1oo&er %as given %as &ublished and released to the &ress' ho&ing that the mone! %ould turn u&' and %ould lead to 1oo&er. The (20 bill images %ith the serial numbers are still available on the =0I %ebsite' li"e the one &ictured above. This is reall! %here it %as becoming difficult to se&arate fact from fiction. So man! &eo&le %ere coming for%ard sa!ing that the! "ne% ,.0. 1oo&er' the! %ere married to ,.0. 1oo&er' m! brother is
E?am&le (20 from ransom that sho%s serial number

Smith 2 ,.0. 1oo&er' and Im ,.0. 1oo&er. Peo&le %ere also ma"ing fa"e (20 bills and &utting the released 1oo&er serial numbers on the fa"e mone!. =ive !ears into the investigation' there %as nothing. No &arachute' no bod!' no mone!' #ust ti&s that continued to lead into dead ends. 5lthough the investigation %as not over' most acce&ted the theor! that 1oo&er &erished in the #um&' after all' it %as 73= outside that night %hen he #um&ed and the &lane %as fl!ing at 200 m&h. =0I agents assumed that the! %ere loo"ing for a &rofessional s"!diver or &aratroo&er because 1oo&er "ne% e?actl! %hat altitude' airs&eed' and degrees of the fla&s the air&lane needed to have. Some busted this theor! %ith the fact that 1oo&er %as not dressed for the occasion' li"e =0I S&ecial 5gent 1arr' .$e #um&ed %ith loafers on for goodness sa"es./ The theories %ere not hel&ing and the case %ent cold. The Physical vi!ence
Initial ,.0. 1oo&er s"etch

In =ebruar! of 12B0' %hile cam&ing %ith his famil! on the 1olumbia Eiver about 2 miles do%nstream from Cancouver'

Part of the recovered ransom

Smith 10 *ashington' B7!ear old 0rian Ingram found some &ac"ets of mone! under a &ile of leaves %here he %as about to start a fire. The &ac"ets %ere severel! disintegrated but still bundled in rubber bands. The =0I confirmed that the mone! %as arranged in the same %a! as %hen the! gave it to >r. 1oo&er' and the serial numbers %ere &erfect matches. Ingram found (6'B00 in (20 bills. The recovered ransom is &ictured to the right. This launched a %hole ne% series of 8uestions and started an e?cavation of the area surrounding the discover! site of the mone!. It %as confirmed b! an 5rm! 1or& Engineer h!drologist that the mone! %as disintegrated in a rounded fashion' meaning that the mone! had been de&osited b! river action as o&&osed to being deliberatel! buried. This changed the original sus&ected landing &oint of ,.0. 1oo&er. The =0I initiall! thought that ,.0. 1oo&er landed near Ga"e >er%in' #ust south of Cancouver' *ashington' %hich fed into the 1olumbia Eiver' ho%ever the &oint %here Ga"e >er%in fed into the 1olumbia Eiver %as miles do%nstream from %here the mone! %as found. The ne% landing -one %as believed to be the *ashougal Eiver' #ust north of Cancouver' *ashington' %hich also fed into the 1olumbia Eiver' ho%ever' it %as several miles u&stream from the discover! &oint of the mone!. In >a! of 12BA' 0rian Ingram received (2'3A0 from his find. 5n e8ual amount %as also given to North%est 4rient. The remaining (2B0 %as "e&t as evidence if the =0I found ,.0. 1oo&er and needed to &rosecute him. In addition to the mone! that Ingram found' in 123B' a deer hunter found

Smith 11 a &lacard containing instructions on ho% to lo%er the aft stairs from a 0oeing 323. 5lthough it %as not confirmed to be from North%est 4rient 5irlines flight 306' it %as found in the basic flight &ath of the air&lane. Toda!' the mone! and the &lacard remain the onl! tangible evidence from the hi#ac"ing found outside the aircraft. The "us#ects Numerous &eo&le came for%ard claiming that the! %ere ,.0. 1oo&er' or the! %ere related to someone %ho %as ,.0. 1oo&er. Some of those sus&ects are ;enneth 1hristiansen' an e?7North%est 4rient Em&lo!ee' *illiam Hossett' %ho had advanced #um&ing training in the militar!' and Eichard =lo!d >c1o!' Ir.' &robabl! the most highl! &ublici-ed co&!cat hi#ac"er. Though there %ere numerous hi#ac"ers that attem&ted the same act' Eichard =lo!d >c1o!' Ir. %as more &ublici-ed than an!bod! because he demanded even more mone!' and the events that ha&&ened during his hi#ac"ing com&letel! mirrored the events of ,.0. 1oo&ers hi#ac"ing. 4n 5&ril 3' 1232' Eichard =lo!d >c1o!' Ir. hi#ac"ed a )nited 5irlines 0oeing 323 aircraft and demanded &arachutes and (600'000. $e and the mone! %ere ca&tured and >c1o! %as "illed in &rison. 4ut of all the sus&ects that have come for%ard' all have been cleared through ,N5 evidence. Air#ort an! Air#lane "ecurity A!vances Starting in 1233' #ust 1 J !ears

.1oo&er Cane/

Smith 12 after ,.0. 1oo&ers famed hi#ac"ing' the =55 K=ederal 5viation 5dministrationL began re8uiring that all &assengers and bags be screened &rior to an individual boarding an aircraft. The amount of hi#ac"ing decreased from 31 in 1232 to #ust onl! 2 in 1233' both of %hich %ere committed b! &s!chiatric &atients. =ollo%ing several co&!cat hi#ac"ers' the =55 made a device and subse8uentl! named it the .1oo&er Cane./ It is #ust a s%itch that &revents the aft stairs from being o&ened in flight. Some airlines o&ted to sto& using the aft stairs com&letel! and %eld the aft stair door com&letel! shut. The .1oo&er Cane/ on a 0oeing 323 is &ictured above. The $ate o% the Hi&acke! Air#lane In 123B' North%est 5irlines sold the 0oeing 323 aircraft to *inston7Salem based airline Piedmont 5irlines. In 122A' the air&lane %as scra&ed for &arts in a >em&his' Tennessee bone !ard. The registration of the 0oeing 323 that 1oo&er hi#ac"ed %as N 63)S. *hen it %as sold to Piedmont
$i#ac"ed air&lane in Piedmont liver!

5irlines in 123B' the registration %as changed to NB3BN and &ainted in the Piedmont liver! as &ictured above.

The 'losing I had never reall! heard of ,.0. 1oo&er. I remember %atching a

Smith 13 s&ecial on the $istor! 1hannel about the onl! unsolved hi#ac"ing in 5merican histor!' and being a &erson that loves an!thing involved %ith aviation' I tuned in and became over%helmed %ith all the information I %as hearing. I as"ed m! mom about the case' as she %as a flight attendant on the same t!&e aircraft that ,.0. 1oo&er hi#ac"ed. 5lthough she %as a flight attendant man! !ears after the ,.0. 1oo&er hi#ac"ing' it %as something still %idel! tal"ed about and discussed in the aviation industr!. She recalls on her first da! of training' her instructor e?&lained ho% the .1oo&er Cane/ %or"ed' the s%itch on the outside of the aircraft that %ould &revent the stairs from being lo%ered in flight. She also got e?tensive training on %hat to do if someone ever attem&ted to hi#ac" the air&lane. =0I 5gent Garr! 1arr' the ne%est lead detective in the case eeril! stated' .=e% crimes are so shoc"ing or so terrif!ing that the stories of %hat ha&&ened live on !ears or even decades' after the offenses occurred./ 1arr continued' .The shoc" %aves from these crimes often ri&&le be!ond the area %here the! ha&&ened' fascinating and frightening entire nations7and sometimes the %orld. Some of these crimes are solved. 4ften the! are not./ The m!ster! of ,.0. 1oo&er has not onl! changed the course of aviation histor!' but he has created a bedtime stor!. It seems that the events that trans&ired on that Than"sgiving eve in 1231 %ill never be solved. *ill the %orld ever "no% e?actl! %hat ha&&ened+ 1arr finished %ith some final resounding

Smith 1 %ords' .0ut even %hen the cases gro% cold' the evidence remains and a%a"ens the amateur detective in all of us./ Gong after this &a&er comes to a conclusion' the research %ill not sto&. >! e!es have been a%a"ened to an event in histor! that &robabl! %ill never ha&&en again. Ive become determined to find ans%ers to the onl! unsolved hi#ac"ing.

(orks 'ite! 1oreno' 1atherine. M,.0. 1oo&er< 5 Timeline.M New York Magazine. 21 4ct 2003. *eb. 2A 4ct. 2013.

Hra!' Heoffre!. M)nmas"ing ,.0. 1oo&er.M New York Magazine. 21 4ct 2003< n. &age. *eb. 2A 4ct. 2013.

;at-' $9l:na. MThe Canishing $i#ac"er< The ,isa&&earance of ,.0. 1oo&er K1231L.M Trans. 5rra! Cold Cases: Famous nsol!ed

Mysteries" Crimes" #nd Disappearan$es in #meri$a. Santa 0arbara< Hreen%ood' 2010. 2637A2. Print.

Smith 16

>elchisedech 4lsen' ;a!. The D.B. Cooper %i&a$king: 'anishing #$t. >an"ato< 1om&ass Point 0oo"s' 2011. 272A. Print.

)nited States. =ederal 0ureau of Investigation. (n )ear$h of D.B. Cooper: New De!elopments in the 2002. 20 4ctober 2013 nsol!ed Case. *eb. 13 >ar.