- TrueReels
- Series
- D.B. Cooper
- Episode 3
D.B. Cooper: One Jump. $200,000. Gone.Episode 31:15
$200,000 for Everyone on Flight 305
Cooper ties every passenger's safety to a precise ransom demand, then prepares an escape route no airport can contain.
Watch it in the appThis episode needs All Access, from $4.99 a week.
Transcript
A hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper seized a plane, then jumped.
On November 24th, 1971, as Dan Cooper, he bought a one-way Seattle ticket.
That ticket put him on Northwest Orient Flight 305, from Portland to Seattle.
Schaffner received Cooper's note; Cooper told her he had a bomb.
He demanded $200,000 for all passengers' safe return.
The aircraft carried 36 passengers and six crew members above Puget Sound.
Tina Mucklow later called Cooper not nervous, rather nice, and not cruel.
He also demanded four parachutes, including two front and two back.
The planned route headed toward Mexico City, stopping to refuel in Reno.
The FBI bulletin described a dark briefcase or attaché case and a paper bag.
Cooper got the money, opened the plane's aft door, and deployed the airstair.
The jump occurred somewhere between Seattle and Reno, Nevada.
Cooper told Schaffner to look at the note. I have a bomb.
Cooper parachuted over southwest Washington during the jump.
Where it leaves off
Cooper's escape route was not an airport—the rear of the plane was about to become his door.
Sources
- D.B. Cooper. U.S. Attorney’s Case File for the skyjacking case involving the alias “D.B. Cooper,” dated 1971. | National Archivesarchives.govprimary
- Society for American Archivists' article "Highlights from the National Archives’ Nationwide Holdings" | National Archivesarchives.govsecondary
- D. B. Cooper - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgsecondary
- Full text of "D. B. Cooper"archive.orgprimary
The whole series is in the app.
Download on the App StoreAll Access is $4.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The annual plan starts with three days free.