WA WA - D.B. Cooper hijacking mystery, 24 Nov 1971 - #3

[Mikebr]

The thing is, if he went missing in that time frame and if the family cared enough to file a report.... with DB Cooper's likeness being in the media after the highjacking wouldn't it be likely that they would see his likeness in the paper or TV and bring someone's attention to it?

you would think so. if he died perhaps, he had been estranged from his family so long they had either reported him years before or never. i was thinking, given the time frame, he may have changed his appearance for the hijacking..what if he had been wearing long hair and a beard for years..the clip on tie makes me think it was only bought for the caper..not something he wore in real life. and its always possible the police did get a tip from some relative but the tip was lost in the thousands of tips they received. If someone called and said that looks a little like my nephew but i haven't seen him in years and i don't know where he is now.....might be tossed aside by some tip line operator or some desk officer....

If he lived and never was reported missing i would still expect calls identifying him. i think he had radically changed his appearance though...so the sketch might be too far off...if i were assigned this case i would spend a couple of years climbing through every box of evidence on this case...somewhere i bet he was identified but overlooked.

 

[TallCoolOne]

There was a lot of work done in those old threads and several suspects were named.

Yeah, Leftcoast was most intriguing. It seemed as though the thread pretty much went to the wayside after his passing. I know how terribly sad I was when we lost him, he was most interesting. They were sure hot on Ted's trail, that's for sure!!

 

[Steely Dan]

Yeah, Leftcoast was most intriguing. It seemed as though the thread pretty much went to the wayside after his passing. I know how terribly sad I was when we lost him, he was most interesting. They were sure hot on Ted's trail, that's for sure!!

This if from the article in the OP

The name of a man not previously investigated was given to the FBI nearly a year ago by a law enforcement colleague, and an item that belongs to him was sent for fingerprint work at the agency's Quantico, Va., forensic lab, agents told seattlepi.com....

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/arti...-in-D-B-Cooper-case-1684566.php#ixzz1f7DhnK6j

 

[justathought]

I'm confused, was the woman from Oklahoma's uncle ruled out?

 

[wfgodot]

I'm confused, was the woman from Oklahoma's uncle ruled out?

The DNA found on the Cooper tie did not match that provided by his niece; but the story hasn't been definitively ruled out yet, afaik.

 

[Steely Dan]

It appears that the #1 suspect right now was only learned about within the last couple of years.

 

[josie1986]

Can someone fill me in who DB Cooper is? I've never heard of him/her.

Think I've been living under a rocks :floorlaugh:

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[wfgodot]

Can someone fill me in who DB Cooper is? I've never heard of him/her.

Think I've been living under a rocks :floorlaugh:

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

A person using the alias Dan Cooper skyjacked a Boeing 747 commercial flight on 24 November 1971, demanding and receiving a ransom of $200,000 for releasing the passengers. He subsequently parachuted from the jet over southwestern Washington state, and his true identity remains a mystery. (The alias "D.B. Cooper" was based on a miscommunication of the name Dan Cooper.)

 

[Steely Dan]

Can someone fill me in who DB Cooper is? I've never heard of him/her.

Think I've been living under a rocks :floorlaugh:

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How old are you?

Here's a recent article on the case with a little backstory. If you do an internet search you'll be overwhelmed with how much is out there.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/182791/288/DB-Cooper-mystery-still-alive-after-40-years

DB Cooper mystery still alive after 40 years
11:33 AM, Nov 28, 2011

UNDATED (CNN) -- It's been 40 years since the man known as "DB Cooper" hijacked a flight from Portland, Oregon and demanded a $200,000 ransom. He then jumped from the plane, while it was in flight, with the money and a parachute strapped to him. Despite an exhaustive manhunt, the case remains unsolved. Many people continue to search for answers.

Four decades after DB Cooper's leap into notoriety, his caper still fuels the imagination of many an armchair detective. Who gather for what's billed as the first symposium on the Cooper case. Doug Kenck-Crispin says, "This crime seems to be to many the perfect crime and it's just incredible interesting that this guy-- the only unsolved skyjacking in U.S. aviation history-- is unknown. We just don't know what happened."...

 

[josie1986]

How old are you?

Here's a recent article on the case with a little backstory. If you do an internet search you'll be overwhelmed with how much is out there.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/182791/288/DB-Cooper-mystery-still-alive-after-40-years

DB Cooper mystery still alive after 40 years
11:33 AM, Nov 28, 2011

UNDATED (CNN) -- It's been 40 years since the man known as "DB Cooper" hijacked a flight from Portland, Oregon and demanded a $200,000 ransom. He then jumped from the plane, while it was in flight, with the money and a parachute strapped to him. Despite an exhaustive manhunt, the case remains unsolved. Many people continue to search for answers.

Four decades after DB Cooper's leap into notoriety, his caper still fuels the imagination of many an armchair detective. Who gather for what's billed as the first symposium on the Cooper case. Doug Kenck-Crispin says, "This crime seems to be to many the perfect crime and it's just incredible interesting that this guy-- the only unsolved skyjacking in U.S. aviation history-- is unknown. We just don't know what happened."...

Thank u so much

I'm 25,I've only got into sleuthing is the past year or so this one is new to me.

Thanks again

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[Steely Dan]

Thank u so much

I'm 25,I've only got into sleuthing is the past year or so this one is new to me.

Thanks again

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

No problem. It's a very interesting case.

 

[josie1986]

No problem. It's a very interesting case.

Wow I just read the article in the link u posted,what an elaborate story.

I wonder if he originally planned to jump from the plane or it was something that was a split second descion type of thing.

It just seems a bit out there to me to gain money......I mean he could have robbed a bank or something.I'm in no way condoning robbery or the likes but ya know what I mean.

I can't wait to read more on this.

eta: autocorrect is a pain in the a$$! :floorlaugh:

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[Steely Dan]

Wow I just read the article in the link u posted,what an elaborate story.

I wonder if he originally planned to jump from the plane or it was something that was a split second descion type of thing.

It just seems a bit out there to me to gain money......I mean he could have robbed a bank or something.I'm in no way condoning robbery or the likes but ya know what I mean.

I can't wait to read more on this.

eta: autocorrect is a pain in the a$$! :floorlaugh:

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

He planned to jump the whole time. The plane he jumped from was unique in that it had a ramp on the back of the plane for loading cargo. This allowed him to jump out of the back of the plane. They don't make commercial airliners like that anymore.

He knew this was the only kind of plane he'd be able to jump from.

 

[JackAMW]

SST related manager/engineer, possible Air America/Spook that had done missions behind enemy lines in Viet Nam using the same airplane and techniques that the Boeing 727 had been used to deploy Spec Ops.
With unprocessed titanium and 5000 series aluminum found on the tie, indicates that Cooper had worked as a manager or engineer in a plant that ties to the Super Sonic Transport aka SST because of the rarity of the metal at that in 1971 and that the SST was to be made of titanium and aluminum, but when funding was pulled and thousands lost their jobs, with several businesses lost, it was called "The Airline That Ate Seattle" in 1971.
Northwest Airlines had ordered four SSTs and well over 100 were ordered worldwide, loosing millions for those concerned
Dan Cooper was a comic book character published in France 1954 to 1980s, about a Canadian Jet Pilot that parachuted. Never published in America
Witnesses said that he was an executive type with black hair, smoked Releighs, drank bourbon, no accent, took the dummy reserve shut indicating novice but knew how to put on the other indicating prior jump experience, knew to lower flaps at 15 degrees, landing gear and aft stairwell to slow airspeed that not even control or the pilot knew could be done. He knew that the stairwell button could not be over ridden from the cockpit. Indicates CIA/Spook background
It has been said that in some parts of Canada, people have no accents or less of one then elsewhere, with the Dan Cooper comic book and his no accent indicates possible Canadian background.
With titanium and 5000 series found in tie, indicated some link to SST and Seattle. Also found on the tie was pill coatings from taking medication, most likely from a stomach problem, indicating prescriptions
Now there can not be too many people like that

 

[Steely Dan]

SST related manager/engineer, possible Air America/Spook that had done missions behind enemy lines in Viet Nam using the same airplane and techniques that the Boeing 727 had been used to deploy Spec Ops.
With unprocessed titanium and 5000 series aluminum found on the tie, indicates that Cooper had worked as a manager or engineer in a plant that ties to the Super Sonic Transport aka SST because of the rarity of the metal at that in 1971 and that the SST was to be made of titanium and aluminum, but when funding was pulled and thousands lost their jobs, with several businesses lost, it was called "The Airline That Ate Seattle" in 1971.
Northwest Airlines had ordered four SSTs and well over 100 were ordered worldwide, loosing millions for those concerned
Dan Cooper was a comic book character published in France 1954 to 1980s, about a Canadian Jet Pilot that parachuted. Never published in America
Witnesses said that he was an executive type with black hair, smoked Releighs, drank bourbon, no accent, took the dummy reserve shut indicating novice but knew how to put on the other indicating prior jump experience, knew to lower flaps at 15 degrees, landing gear and aft stairwell to slow airspeed that not even control or the pilot knew could be done. He knew that the stairwell button could not be over ridden from the cockpit. Indicates CIA/Spook background
It has been said that in some parts of Canada, people have no accents or less of one then elsewhere, with the Dan Cooper comic book and his no accent indicates possible Canadian background.
With titanium and 5000 series found in tie, indicated some link to SST and Seattle. Also found on the tie was pill coatings from taking medication, most likely from a stomach problem, indicating prescriptions
Now there can not be too many people like that

Can you link that, please?

 

[KarlK]

He planned to jump the whole time.

Yes, I don't think there was any kind of alternate plan. And you don't plan on jumping if you've never done it before and you certainly don't plan on jumping at night if you've never done it before either. So we know at least two things with a very high probability of certainty about "Cooper": he was a qualified parachutist, and not one of the casual hobby type. Either a paratrooper or a fire jumper, or both. That still leaves a lot of suspects, but it rules out a lot as well. I find it deplorable that so many people still think he was a lucky amateur.

Also because of his choice of name some think the man was Canadian, due to the fact that there was a popular European comic strip at the time that featured the lead character "Dan Cooper", an RCAF fighter pilot. But this comic strip was popular in Europe, not in Canada. Because of this some also think the guy could have been European but since no one who spoke with him noticed any trace of a foreign accent I personally think he was either American or Canadian.

The plane he jumped from was unique in that it had a ramp on the back of the plane for loading cargo. This allowed him to jump out of the back of the plane. They don't make commercial airliners like that anymore. He knew this was the only kind of plane he'd be able to jump from.

It is a common misconception that the 727 was unique in having "airstairs" under its tail. There were in fact three types of commercial jetliner operated by airlines in the US at the time that were so equipped. Apart from the 727, the DC-9 and the Caravelle (flown by United Airlines) also had them. It was in fact the French-made Caravelles purchased by United Airlines that had introduced the concept here in the early 60's. Other airlines, noticing that United made extensive -and efficient- use of this feature, asked Douglas and Boeing if they could incorporate it to their rear-engined airliners. This ramp could be configured to load cargo as well as passengers and/or service personnel from the rear.

The reason for this was that back in those pre-CRJ days it was those relatively large aircraft that served small and often modestly equipped regional airports. There was a need for speedy de-planing and boarding of passengers and service staff for quicker turnarounds, instead of waiting for mobile stairways (if present) to be towed around. Sometimes mobile stairways would be used so that cleaning staff could enter using the aft airstairs at begin servicing the plane from the rear while passengers were exiting from the side. Obviously it was also possible to load new passengers from the rear while those from the incoming flight exited the sides, significantly reducing turnaround time. The advent of small jetliners -such as the ubiquitous CRJ- and jetways specifically designed for them meant that rear airstairs were not necessary anymore.

But there's more. There may have been another reason for having this feature implemented at the time.

Interestingly the original purpose of those airstairs on the Caravelle had nothing to do with airline passengers. In the late 1950's at the height of the cold war the French government had required of jet airliner designers that they engineer aircraft that could be quickly converted to military use, mostly as troop and supplies transports or tactical airlift. The aft airstairs were thus designed so as to be able to open in flight to facilitate supplies drops and paratrooper ops. The US government has never admitted that it had a similar requirement for 727's and DC-9's but the fact that on those models the aft stairs could be lowered in flight just like the Caravelle's -despite obvious safety issues- is a pretty strong indication that the same purpose was intended. Thankfully, the flying public did not know about this feature.

But "Dan Cooper" did. In my opinion that is another indication that he probably had a military background and a strong interest in aviation that went far beyond that of even the most enthusiastic air traveler.

 

[KarlK]

Dan Cooper was a comic book character published in France 1954 to 1980s, about a Canadian Jet Pilot that parachuted. Never published in America

Friends in Canada tell me that despite his nationality the comic book Cooper was pretty obscure in Canada, even French Canada. He was however very popular in Europe, where most of the action was set. I am told that Cooper was a Captain and later a Major in the RCAF, who flew supersonic jet fighters.

It has been said that in some parts of Canada, people have no accents or less of one then elsewhere

Let's just that they have the same accent as millions of us, indistinguishable from the "flat" speech of Midwestern and West coast cities. The average person would not be able to tell a Canadian from an American this way.

 

[shebbear]

I wonder if this is an authoritative source?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-matching-fingerprint.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[Steely Dan]

I wonder if this is an authoritative source?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-matching-fingerprint.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Interesting, I think he's the guy based on what she's been able to tell police but no reputable outlets are reporting it yet.

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

Let's just that they have the same accent as millions of us, indistinguishable from the "flat" speech of Midwestern and West coast cities. The average person would not be able to tell a Canadian from an American this way.

Respectfully snipped to save space.

I'm east coast Canadian now living in Indiana, I am often told I must be from MA, ME, or NH.