The Crime Book

43

Dan Cooper was the name that the

unidentifed man gave to the airport

cashier. Along with the clip-on tie and

the money recovered in 1980, this

ticket is the only proof of his existence.

BANDITS, ROBBERS, AND ARSONISTS

called it “a promising lead,” but

investigators were never able to

definitely connect L.D. Cooper to

the hijacking. At the end of the

investigation, the FBI was still

attempting to match a fingerprint

to prints the hijacker left on the

Boeing 727.

Lasting legacy

The D.B Cooper case prompted

a spate of copycat crimes,

particularly in the two years

immediately after the hijacking. In

1972 alone, 15 similar skyjackings

were attempted, but all of the

perpetrators were captured. In

total, approximately 160 planes

were hijacked in American airspace

between 1961 and 1973, after

which security was improved

markedly and both passengers and

their luggage began to be screened.

Whether D.B. Cooper survived

the jump or not, his legacy lives on

through an aircraft component that

was named after him. In 1972, the

Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

ordered all Boeing 727s to add what

was later named a “Cooper vane”, a

mechanical aerodynamic wedge

that prevents the rear stairway

from being lowered in flight.

The enigmatic D.B. Cooper case

is the world’s only unsolved

skyjacking. After investigating

thousands of leads over 45 years,

the FBI announced in July 2016

that it was ending active

investigation of the case, but

insisted that the file remains

open. Meanwhile, the legend of

D.B. Cooper lives on in music, films,

documentaries, scores of books,

and in the lives of thousands of

armchair sleuths. ■

19:40

The plane is refuelled and

takes off again. Cooper

explains his flight plan to

the pilots and orders them

to remain in the cockpit

until they land.

20:00

A warning light alerts

the pilots that the plane’s

rear stairway has been

opened.

20:13

The plane experiences

a sudden upward

movement; the pilots

bring the plane back

to level flight.

22:15

The plane lands safely

at Reno Airport and is searched

by police and military officials.

The sequence of events on

24 November 1971 is clear enough

through the testimony of witnesses,

but the fate of D.B. Cooper after he

exited the plane remains a mystery.

038-043_DB_Cooper.indd 43 02/12/2016 14:40