Into Thin Air: The Mystery of D.B. Cooper

 

Title: Into Thin Air: The Mystery of D.B. Cooper

{Non fiction.....} 

The D.B. Cooper hijacking is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in U.S. aviation history. The event unfolded on a crisp afternoon, November 24, 1971—Thanksgiving Eve. A mysterious man who would later become infamous as "D.B. Cooper" (though he had bought the ticket under the name "Dan Cooper") boarded Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. He was a quiet, unassuming man in his mid-40s, dressed neatly in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. He carried a briefcase and a small paper bag.

Shortly after takeoff, Cooper passed a note to a flight attendant, Florence Schaffner. Initially, she didn’t take the note seriously, assuming it was another businessman slipping his phone number, so she pocketed it without reading it. Cooper, however, leaned toward her and whispered, “Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb.”

Her heart pounded as she unfolded the note, which claimed he had a bomb in his briefcase and demanded $200,000 in cash, four parachutes (two primary and two reserves), and a fuel truck standing by in Seattle to refuel the plane. Cooper then opened his briefcase slightly to show her wires and red sticks—what appeared to be an explosive device.

The flight crew, shocked and trying to remain calm, relayed the demands to the cockpit. Captain William Scott contacted air traffic control, which informed the FBI. In the tense hours that followed, the passengers were unaware that their flight was under threat. They were told the plane had encountered a "minor mechanical difficulty" and would be delayed in landing.

In Seattle, law enforcement and the airline scrambled to gather the ransom money—$200,000 in twenty-dollar bills—and the parachutes. Upon landing, Cooper allowed all 36 passengers to leave in exchange for the money and parachutes. The flight crew remained aboard, and after the ransom was delivered, Cooper outlined his next plan: he instructed the pilot to take off again and head toward Mexico City, flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet and a speed of no more than 200 knots.

After takeoff, with only Cooper and a few crew members left on board, he asked them to stay in the cockpit with the door closed. Then, somewhere over the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest, Cooper lowered the rear airstair and parachuted into the night with the ransom money strapped to him.

When the crew eventually landed safely in Reno, Nevada, authorities stormed the plane, only to find it empty. Cooper had vanished into thin air.

Despite an exhaustive search by the FBI, including combing through the rugged terrain where they believed Cooper might have landed, no trace of him was ever found. The search continued for decades, and while several suspects were investigated, the true identity and fate of D.B. Cooper remains a mystery. In 1980, a young boy found a decaying package of $20 bills along the Columbia River that matched the serial numbers of Cooper's ransom money, but this was the only substantial clue ever uncovered.

The legend of D.B. Cooper grew over the years, becoming a part of American folklore. Theories ranged from him being a highly skilled ex-military man who executed a perfect getaway to speculations that he perished in the wilderness. But one thing remained certain: Cooper, or whoever he was, vanished into the night, leaving behind one of the most intriguing unsolved cases in history.