Get the full EPUB
The EPUB is part of the HistorIQly Plus library. The case file on this page stays free to read.
This EPUB is already in your library. The case file on this page stays free to read.
Download EPUBPlus includes every book in the library. See what Plus includes
Every book in the library is yours to download.
All EPUBs are in English. Translations are coming.
On the afternoon before Thanksgiving 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Flight 305 and passed an attendant a note threatening a bomb. In Seattle he received $200,000 and four parachutes. That evening, after the flight resumed, he jumped from the rear stairs into the darkness. His identity and fate remain unresolved.
He was never seen again. The FBI spent 45 years looking. They never found him.
NOV 24
The night before Thanksgiving. A man calling himself Dan Cooper boards Northwest Orient Flight 305 in Portland, Oregon. He buys a one-way ticket to Seattle for $18. He pays in cash. He does not show ID.
$200K
10,000 twenty-dollar bills. Every serial number recorded by the FBI.
10,000ft
Into freezing rain, pitch darkness, over trackless forest. In loafers and a business suit.
$5,800
Found by an 8-year-old boy on a riverbank in 1980. The other $194,200 has never been seen.
The Evidence
The Ticket
Cooper bought a one-way ticket under the name "Dan Cooper" at Portland International Airport. No ID required. The alias may refer to a French-language comic-book pilot. That possibility has been discussed by investigators, but its origin is unproved.
The Money
In February 1980, eight-year-old Brian Ingram found $5,800 in deteriorated twenties buried in the sand on the Columbia River. Every serial number matched the ransom list. The other $194,200 has never surfaced — in any publicly authenticated recovery.
The Cooper Vane
After the hijacking, Boeing installed a mechanical wedge on every 727 to prevent the rear airstair from being lowered in flight. They named it after Cooper. His exploit contributed to aircraft modifications and security changes amid a wider wave of hijackings.
Flight 305
Boarding
Cooper boards Northwest Orient Flight 305 in Portland. Takes seat 18-E, rear of the cabin. Orders a bourbon and soda. Passes a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner.
The Hijacking
Cooper opens his briefcase, revealing red cylinders, wires, and a battery. He demands $200,000, four parachutes, and a fuel truck. The plane circles Puget Sound while the FBI scrambles.
The Exchange
Flight 305 lands at Sea-Tac. Money and parachutes are delivered. All 36 passengers are released unharmed. Cooper orders the crew to refuel and fly to Mexico City.
Takeoff
The 727 takes off heading south. Cooper specifies: flaps 15°, gear down, altitude 10,000 feet, speed 200 knots, cabin unpressurised. He sends flight attendant Tina Mucklow to the cockpit.
The Jump
The crew feels a sudden upward lurch. The aft airstair warning light is on. Cooper has jumped into freezing rain and total darkness somewhere over southwest Washington. He is never seen again.
Key Figures
Dan Cooper
White male, mid-40s to 50s, 5'10"–6', 170–180 lbs. Dark hair, olive complexion. Wore sunglasses throughout. Calm, polite, methodical. Tipped the flight attendant. Smoked Raleigh cigarettes. Independent researchers later reported industrial particles on his tie; their source remains disputed.
Robert Rackstraw
Vietnam veteran, helicopter pilot, paratrooper, demolitions expert. A privately commissioned comparison claimed similarities with FBI Composite B; it did not establish identity. Denied being Cooper — sometimes with amusement — until his death in 2019.
Into the Dark
The FBI investigated over 1,000 suspects across 45 years. No ransom bills outside the Tena Bar find have been publicly authenticated as recovered. Not one fingerprint was ever matched. Not one body was ever found.
On July 12, 2016, the Bureau formally suspended the investigation. The case remains the only unsolved air piracy in American history.
Get the Full Book
Explore the hijacking, the recovered evidence and the unresolved search for the man who jumped.