1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: I'm to bling a chalk reboarding and I'm fair douty. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: And it has been a great couple of months for 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: history news, hasn't it. Yeah, there's been this new theory 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: about Butch Cassidy's demise. Blackbeard's ship was positively identified, which 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: was really cool, and there was a new lead in 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: the subject we're going to talk about today, the D B. 9 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: Cooper mystery. And if you've never heard of DV. Cooper, 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: we're referring to the nineteen seventy one hijacking of the 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: Northwest Orient Airlines flight, which is to this day, as 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: of this podcast, still unsolved. The man who did it 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: was never caught or positively identified, and we're not even 14 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: sure if he lived past the day that the crime 15 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: was committed. A mystery indeed, But over the years this 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: has become one of America's favorite mysteries. People love to 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: just obsess over the clue, in the suspects, and there 18 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: are even informal groups of amateur investigators who have essentially 19 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: devoted their lives to trying to solve this case. Yeah, 20 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: there's a recent CNN story about that. But if you're 21 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: a long time listener of this podcast, you're probably thinking 22 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: when you saw the title dB Cooper, hey, that looks 23 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: pretty familiar. And it's true. Candice and Josh touched on 24 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: this topic back in the Factor Fiction days. The format 25 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: of the show then wasn't much shorter, so it only 26 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: got three minutes and forty nine seconds, And we've gotten 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: requests over the years to address some of these topics 28 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: in our longer format, and dB Cooper was just one 29 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: that we thought definitely deserved more attention. People want more 30 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,839 Speaker 1: from dB Cooper, they want answers, So here we want 31 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: to take a closer look at the case and some 32 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: of the theories surrounding it and the leads that have 33 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: come up over the years, including a very recent lead. 34 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: You've probably seen dB Cooper's name in the news in 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: the past weeks even, but we're going to start by 36 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: talking about what actually happened the day of the hijacking, 37 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: sort of go blow by blow with it. So just 38 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: to set it all up, on November nineteen seventy one, 39 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: which was the day before Thanksgiving, a man who gave 40 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: the name Dan Cooper, showed up at the airport in Portland, 41 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: Oregon and paid cash for a one way ticket on 42 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: the Northwest Orient Airlines flight three oh five to Seattle. 43 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: So those are that's how it started, and nothing about 44 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: Cooper's appearance that day really raised any red flags for everyone. 45 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: He just looked like this, a regular guy. He was 46 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: wearing a dark business suit and a narrow dark tie 47 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: with a pearl tie tack. He also had a homburg 48 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: hat on and carried a dark raincoat and a briefcase. 49 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: According to witnesses, he was about six ft tall and 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: one seventy five pounds, and he was probably in his 51 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: mid forties. He had short brown hair, a receding hairline, 52 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,959 Speaker 1: brown eyes, and he was clean shaven, very average sounding. Yeah, absolutely, 53 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: and he was assigned to aisle seat eighteen C on 54 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: the The plane itself was a Boeing seven twenty seven, 55 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: so not like a super tiny prop plane or something 56 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: like that. Even though it was a very short, around 57 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: thirty minute flight to Seattle. The plane could actually seat 58 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: around ninety four passengers, but there were only thirty six 59 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: on board, which comes into play later. Does so well. 60 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: Cooper was waiting for the plane, he lit up a cigarette, 61 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: ordered a bourbon and soda, and just hung out in 62 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: the afternoon waiting for the flight to take off. Then 63 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: shortly after the plane was airborne, he handed the flight attendant, 64 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: Florence Schaffner, a note. Yeah, and Schaefer was twenty three 65 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: and pretty, and according to an article by Jeffrey Gray 66 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: and New York Magazine, she was used to passengers hitting 67 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: on her, and so that's basically what she thought was 68 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: happening when she got the note, she said, she tried 69 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: to kind of shrug it off, like, oh yeah, just 70 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: another note from a guy. I'm gonna put it away. 71 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: But Cooper said to her, miss you better take a 72 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: look at that note. The note was written in felt 73 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: pen in all caps, and it said quote, I have 74 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: a bomb in my briefcase. I want you to sit 75 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: beside me. So she did as she was told, and 76 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: Cooper gave her a glimpse inside his briefcase. And when 77 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: he opened it up, she saw this mass of wires, 78 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: a battery, six red sticks, so it looked like it 79 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: could be It looked like it could be a bomb. 80 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: And he made her write down some instructions what he wanted, 81 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: which included two d thousand dollars and used twenties two 82 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: parachutes and two backup shoots, so two front and two 83 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: back shoots, and he wanted a fuel truck ready to 84 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 1: refuel when the plane landed. He told her no funny stuff, 85 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: or I'll do the job. So the crew in the 86 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: airline did what he wanted. They had to circle the 87 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: airport for a little bit while the people on the 88 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: ground put the demands together. And after the plan landed 89 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: and parked on this remote part of the airfield, Cooper 90 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: let all of thirty six passengers plus Schaffner get off 91 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: the plane, and that left three flight officers and another 92 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: flight attendant on the plane with him, and he requested 93 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: that meals be brought to them and asked for his 94 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: note back. It seemed like he had all of this 95 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: really carefully prepared. Then they took off from the Seattle 96 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: Tacoma Airport at about seven forty six PM, which was 97 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: two hours approximately after they landed, and at first Cooper 98 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: told the pilot that he wanted to go to Mexico, 99 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: but he had really specific instructions for him to He 100 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: told the pilot to keep the plane below ten thousand 101 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: feet and he claimed that he had a risk altimeter 102 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: to actually check up on that too, and ordered him 103 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: to fly no faster than one fifty miles per hour 104 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: with the flap set at fifteen degrees. Yeah, and so 105 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: the pilot told him at that point that they couldn't 106 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: make it to Mexico City under those conditions without refueling 107 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: and Reno, so Cooper agreed to that. After they were airborne, though, 108 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: Cooper ordered the flight attendant to go into the cockpit, 109 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: so he was alone in the cabin. Then around eight pm, 110 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: a light on the instrument panel indicated that the door 111 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: to the f stairs had been opened, and about twenty 112 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,719 Speaker 1: minutes later, the crew noticed a slight change in the 113 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: plane's altitude. The nose dipped first and then the tail, 114 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: which is apparently what happens when aft stairs are lowered. 115 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: So when the plane landed in Reno, Cooper was gone. 116 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: So now let's look at the time frame a little judging. 117 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: By the time they noticed that the aft stairs had 118 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: been opened and lowered, they estimated that he had come 119 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: down near the Lewis River, which is north of Portland, 120 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: and authorities combed that area really thoroughly, bit by bit 121 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: over the next few weeks looking for anything, you know, 122 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: a scrap of parachute money, just something that could be 123 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: connected to him, but absolutely nothing came up, and the FBI, 124 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: of course immediately opened an investigation on this whole thing 125 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: and called it nor Jack for the Northwest Hijacking, a 126 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: pretty dramatic sounding name. But by the five year anniversary 127 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: of the crime, they had considered more than eight hundred 128 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: suspects and eliminated all but two dozen, So it seems 129 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: like maybe they were getting somewhere. And the thing is, though, 130 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: suspects and leads continue to come up even to day, 131 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: so surely that number has only grown since them. So 132 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: what types of suspects are they looking for? Though, let's 133 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: break that down a little bit. Well, there's the physical 134 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: description we mentioned earlier, and witnesses seemed to agree on 135 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: that there were at least two flight attendants who gave 136 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: pretty much the same exact description, and a composite drawing 137 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: was made from that, and that's been published everywhere by now, 138 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: so geting hairline man wearing glasses in one picture, no 139 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: glasses in the other, and the name also a sort 140 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: of an interesting point here. It's very likely that Dan Cooper, 141 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: of course, wasn't the hijacker's real name, but the FBI 142 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: has investigated some people with the last name Cooper over 143 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: the years, and that's how the dB thing came into 144 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: the picture. They questioned a man with those initials early on, 145 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: but it turned out that he had nothing to do 146 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: with it. The press ran with it, though, and it 147 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: kind of caught on. And I guess dB Cooper just 148 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: sounds way sexier and cooler than Dan Cooper. It's more distinctive, 149 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: for sure. So investigators have also tried to gather clues 150 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: from the hijackers, behave to try to figure out what 151 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: his occupation might have been, what his background might have been. 152 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: And at first, because of his detailed instructions to the 153 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: crew about how to fly the plan, you know that 154 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: the degrees of the flaps and the altitude and all 155 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: of that in his very specific parachute request, and and 156 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: just the fact that he knew how to open the 157 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: aft door, many assumed that Cooper had some sort of 158 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: familiarity with aviation, maybe he had been in the Air Force, 159 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: or maybe he was an experienced skydiver, but that that 160 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,959 Speaker 1: kind of idea about him changed pretty dramatically over the years. 161 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: It has now they really don't think that he was 162 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: such an experienced skydiver. After all, according to the FBI's 163 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: website quote, no experienced parachutist would have jumped in the 164 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,839 Speaker 1: pitch black night, in the rain with a two d 165 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: mile an hour wind in his face, wearing loafers and 166 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: a trench coat. It was simply too risky. Also, that 167 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: reserve parachute that Cooper chose to take along with him, 168 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: I think, if you'll remember, we mentioned that he took 169 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: he had for four, so he took two of those, 170 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: and one of them was actually a training shoot that 171 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 1: had been sown and he took with them. Yeah, so 172 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: a skilled skydiver or so authorities think, probably would have 173 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,319 Speaker 1: noticed that that was the case, although you never know 174 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: in the heat of the moment. So those are just 175 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: some of the details that the FBI has used to 176 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 1: try to put together a profile on who this hijacker 177 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: really was. And we've got to look at hard clues 178 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: though not just this background information profile business. So the 179 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: only physical evidence that was left behind on the plane 180 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: or eight Raleigh cigarette butts, a black J. C. Penny 181 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: tie and a tie tack, and there were also sixty 182 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: six unaccounted fingerprints on flight three or five that they 183 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: could compare to suspects prints and it. You know, they 184 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,199 Speaker 1: were prints that didn't match any of the known passengers, 185 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: any of the known crew, and were therefore assumed to 186 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: be those of dB Cooper. Later, though, they got something 187 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: a little bit better. They were able to actually lift 188 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: DNA from the tie in two thousand one, which helped 189 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: them to rule out a couple of suspects. In February 190 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: nine eight, a boy playing on the bank of the 191 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 1: Columbia River also found five thousand, eight hundred dollars of 192 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: the payoff money. The FBI had actually written down the 193 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: serial numbers, but even though the authorities secured the area 194 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: again and kind of scoured it, they haven't found anymore. 195 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: During the search, they did find a human skull, though, 196 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: but this turned out to be a woman's and possibly 197 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: Native American, so it wasn't related to the case. There 198 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: was one other false alarm, kind of like that skull. 199 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: A parachute matching the shoots given to Cooper was found 200 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,959 Speaker 1: in two thousand eight by some children who were playing 201 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: in southwestern Washington. They dug it up, but the shoot 202 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: that they found was silk and Cooper's were nylon, so 203 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: it was ruled out as possible evidence. There is an 204 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: interesting clue, though, regarding Cooper's name that the FBI has 205 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: shown an interest in in recent years, with some of 206 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: these more dramatic clues or possible leads drying up. There's 207 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: a French comic book series about a Royal cannyd An 208 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: Air Force test pilot named Dan Cooper, and Dan Cooper 209 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: has adventures, sometimes in outer space, but also sometimes during 210 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: real events of that era. And in one episode, which 211 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: was published near the date of the hijacking, the cover 212 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: illustration shows our hero Dan Cooper parachuting. And I love 213 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: this clue because to me, it's just like something out 214 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: of the show Heroes, you know. The comic book is 215 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: illustrated and it predicts the future and then something happens. 216 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: Um But that was possibly something that influenced the hijacker 217 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: to pick that shas that name. So though the FBI 218 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: has looked into several leads for this case over the years, 219 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: including people who have actually confessed to this crime, a 220 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: few really stand out from the rest. One involved a 221 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: man named Richard F. McCoy, and as we get into 222 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: McCoy's story. We should say that there were lots of 223 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: copycat attempts after dB Cooper hijacked Flight three oh five, 224 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: and McCoy's was just one of them. He hijacked a 225 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: United flight over Utah in April nineteen two and got 226 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: five hundred thousand dollars, but he made a mistake. He 227 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: told a buddy about his plan and that friend turned 228 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: him in. Everyone was really shocked about it. To this guy. 229 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,719 Speaker 1: He was a Sunday school teacher, a student at b 230 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: i U, and also an ex Green Beret helicopter pilot, 231 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: which is why some people thought that there was a 232 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: strong Cooper connection there. But McCoy was later ruled out 233 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: because he didn't match the physical description of Cooper and 234 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: he had an alibi for the crime that happened on 235 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: that the day before Thanksgiving up that year. Yeah, but 236 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: McCoy was convicted for the United hijacking and he was 237 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,199 Speaker 1: sent to jail for forty five years. He escaped in 238 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four and he was killed in a shootout 239 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 1: with the FBI. So just a side note on that 240 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: lead there. But then there was also a guy named 241 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: Dwayne Weber, and on his deathbed he whispered to his 242 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: wife of seventeen years, I'm Dan Cooper. It sounds like 243 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: a strange thing to say, yeah, And she didn't know 244 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: what he was talking about because of the whole Dan 245 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: Cooper DV. Cooper confusion. But once she figured out that 246 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: Dan Cooper was in fact d B. Cooper, it sent 247 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: her down this crazy road of remembering clues that connected 248 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: her husband to the crime. And I would say remembering 249 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: with air quotes, because it seemed almost like she was 250 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,559 Speaker 1: sort of putting pieces together after the faking the story fit, 251 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: making the story fit. And he's also spent time in 252 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: the Army and he matched the physical description, so it 253 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: wasn't just her. The FBI got interested in this too, 254 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: and the d n A that they got off that 255 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: tie in two thousand one, though, actually ruled Weber out 256 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,160 Speaker 1: as a suspect, so we have a few more. Though. 257 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: There was another suspect named Kenneth Christiansen that New York 258 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: Magazine did an article on back in two thousand and seven, 259 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: but the FBI felt that he didn't match Cooper's physical 260 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: description enough, and they also thought that the fact that 261 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: Christiansen was a skilled paratrooper made it unlikely he would 262 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: have jumped out under those conditions, and I was pretty 263 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: fascinated that that was that had become one of the 264 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: qualifications they were looking for, going from uh, Dob Cooper 265 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: probably knew what he was doing to any skilled parachutists 266 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: would never have done this or or might not have 267 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: done it. And then of course that brings us to 268 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: the most recent lead that just made the headlines. In August, 269 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: A woman named Marla Cooper came forward and said that 270 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: based on some childhood memories when she was eight years old, 271 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: she believes that her uncle, Lynn Doyle Cooper was actually 272 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: the hijacker. She remembers seeing her uncle show up that 273 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: night that night before Thanksgiving of at a family member's 274 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: home with serious injuries. Again, here though, DNA testing failed 275 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: to connect the new suspect to dB Cooper's tie, and 276 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: in that case, the tests are still inconclusive, though they're 277 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: still looking for better prints from Lynn Doyle Cooper to test. 278 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: I think he was estranged from his family, so they're 279 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: having to dig that kind of stuff up. But for 280 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: now this lead has gone cold, so so maybe more 281 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: to come from that. Maybe not well, and we could 282 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: really keep on going with these leads and these theories 283 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: and investigations that are going on even now forty years 284 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: later to try to get to the bottom of this 285 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: mysterious case. So sorry, if we've skipped over your favorite 286 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: dB Cooper theory, you can always write in and let 287 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: us know at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com. 288 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: But people's attitude is really interesting. And you actually blogged 289 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: about this, didn't you. Yeah? I did. I kind of 290 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: couldn't get it out of my head when I was 291 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: reading the news about Linde Oyle Cooper and Marla Cooper 292 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: coming forward and the new lead, and then even after 293 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: it went cold, I was just fascinated by how most people, 294 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: it seems that they don't want this case to be solved. 295 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: You've seen a lot of articles probably about that. I mean, 296 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: people aren't really upset that the mystery still continues for 297 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: some reason, but they also don't want Cooper to be 298 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: caught in a sense, even if he's not alive. And 299 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: some articles even suggest he's become a Robin Hood style 300 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: folk hero and they have people rooting for him. Yeah, 301 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: And I never thought about it that way. I always 302 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: kind of thought that the reason that people were so 303 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: drawn to the story is just because it's a mystery. 304 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: You know, you want to find out the answer, you 305 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: want to catch the guy. But I never thought that 306 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: people would actually sympathize with Cooper. I could, I guess 307 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: I can see the argument. You know, he went up 308 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: against the big corporation in a way and got away, 309 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: and that might be easy to do. I mean, he 310 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: didn't kill anyone, and most people who interacted with him 311 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: on that day remember him as polite. He's been called 312 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: the gentleman hijacker. He even insisted on paying for his 313 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: bourbon that day. He paid the flight attendant twenty bucks 314 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: and you know, told her to keep the change. And 315 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: of course it's just a great story. And when I 316 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: was telling Sarah, I was getting like a research high 317 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: from from working on this because there's so much more. 318 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: There's always more, like Sarah said, there's always more theories, 319 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: there's always more to find out about this case. See 320 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: why people get obsessed with it. But I mean that 321 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: Robin hood angle aside. He's still a criminal and what 322 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: he did was really scary and and probably did a 323 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: lot to influence the way we traveled today, the way 324 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: air travel and airport security is or I mean at 325 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: least that started to change around that period. Yes, that's true, 326 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: And it's also interesting to read this interview with Schaefner 327 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: in New York Magazine and hear her talk about how 328 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 1: decades later she was still afraid that Cooper might come 329 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: after her because she was a witness to this crime. 330 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,520 Speaker 1: So even though he didn't kill anyone, he did do 331 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,400 Speaker 1: some damage certainly, And I mean what he did would 332 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,199 Speaker 1: have been really terrifying for the people involved. Something to 333 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: consider for sure, and something to consider whenever we talk 334 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: about kind of glamorized criminals like the bush Rangers and 335 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: all of those fellows. Yeah, we do that quite a 336 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: bit in covering history, I think, and you know it's 337 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: not intentional, but people just really get into the stories 338 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: because they're such fascinating characters of the events surrounding them 339 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: are so interesting. But um, you know, we never lose 340 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: sight of the fact that they remember what's really at state. Yeah, 341 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 1: so the dB Cooper mystery continues. As Sarah said, please 342 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,119 Speaker 1: right in with your favorite DV Cooper theories if we 343 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: missed them, or your favorite leads if we didn't cover them. Wait, sorry, 344 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: we don't have time to cover everything here, but we 345 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: would love to hear about them at History podcast at 346 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com or you can look us 347 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: up on Facebook or we're on Twitter at Nston History. 348 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: And if you want to learn a little bit more 349 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: about some of the dB Cooper theories through the ages, 350 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: we do have an article called is dB Cooper Still Alive? 351 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: And you can find it by looking on our homepage 352 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: at www dot how stuff works dot com. Be sure 353 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: to check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. 354 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: Join how Stuff Work staff as we explore the most 355 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The house Stuff Works 356 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,160 Speaker 1: iPhone app has a rise. Download it today on iTunes.